Racism in Black Mental Health: Unpacking Implicit Bias in Counseling-View Presentation Slides

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The document highlights a webinar by the American Psychiatric Association focused on understanding implicit bias in the context of Black mental health. The webinar, presented by Kellye Winbush Fairley and Dr. Marcus D. Smith, targets continuing education for professionals in psychology, social work, and medical fields. <br /><br />Key learning objectives include exploring the historical impacts of implicit bias, ethical approaches to decolonizing research, and identifying tools to enhance clinician self-awareness and therapeutic relationships. Implicit bias is defined as unconscious attitudes or stereotypes that affect decisions and actions, often in a manner that is misaligned with declared beliefs and predominantly favors one's in-group.<br /><br />Historical context is provided, highlighting systemic oppression and cultural mistrust stemming from mass incarceration, racial disenfranchisement, and media portrayals. The absence of racial trauma in diagnostic criteria like the DSM-5 is noted, emphasizing the need for more inclusion.<br /><br />The Black community's experience with counseling is further explored. The literature indicates a dearth of resources that adequately address racial trauma, often leading to misdiagnosis. It discusses the social stigma and personal conflict experienced by Black individuals when identifying and processing racial trauma.<br /><br />Recommendations for clinicians include recognizing racial trauma, promoting healing, and creating supportive environments. It suggests integrating cultural theories like Radical Healing and Intersectionality into practice to circumvent traditional biases.<br /><br />Additional resources and tools such as cultural broaching, reflective questioning, and theory integration models are discussed. The document concludes by suggesting further reading and resources for those interested in mitigating implicit biases and improving culturally competent care for Black American adults with serious mental illnesses.

Keywords

implicit bias

Black mental health

American Psychiatric Association

continuing education

racial trauma

cultural mistrust

decolonizing research

therapeutic relationships

culturally competent care

Radical Healing