Everyday racism in our mental health services is doing harm to people of color. The time for change is now.
Nationwide — The International Handbook of Black Community Mental Health brings together the work of researchers and practitioners from the UK, Europe, and the US to explore the personal, lived experiences of people of color in the mental health system. Crucially, contributors go on to not only outline and make policy recommendations but have developed practical exercises/activities and new technologies that can help to address the problems of both Black mental health professionals and service users.
The time for change is now. Contributors argue that the Black community must:
• Move beyond the old, non-accountable model of ‘institutional racism’ to address “everyday racism” and the multiple forms of destructive and demoralizing micro-aggression and negative “racialized forms of communication” that people of color constantly confront in both mental health services and universities.
• Take action to end the over-representation of Black men in the mental health system and make more genuine efforts to develop better and more comprehensive services.
• Make use of tools and tested programs that have been shown to help young people with challenging behaviors and ultimately reduce school exclusions and raise academic
achievement.
• Stop treating ‘cultural competence’ for service providers as a tick-box exercise.
• Recognize ‘extreme racism’ as a psychological disorder in the American Psychological Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).
Making use of a cultural competence framework throughout, the book covers many of the classic mental health/developmental areas such as schizophrenia, mental health disorders, ASD and ADHD, but it also looks at more controversial areas in mental health, like inequalities, racism, and discrimination both in practice and in graduate school training and the supervisory experiences of black students in universities. Unique among traditional academic texts addressing mental health, the book presents rich personal accounts from Black therapists and students. Many Black students who are training to become therapists or academics in mental health report negative experiences with white university staff in terms of a lack of support, encouragement, resulting in poor graduation outcomes.
In his Foreword, Prof Joseph L. White describes the book as “outstanding”, “very timely” and says it “will go a long way towards raising awareness challenging systems and structures and creating more favorable positive outcomes for people of color who access mental health services.” The Prologue is by author, Professor Alvin Poussaint a former television psychological consultant for a number of TV shows in the USA, who says, “I applaud the editors’ work. This insightful book will prove valuable for individuals who seek a better understanding of the challenges people of color face in mental health.”
“This book is essential reading for any Mental Health practitioner who wishes to understand and practice in a system which is beneficial to all regardless of race.” — Lord Victor O. Adebowale, CBE, Chief Executive of Turning Point.
“… a landmark in our understanding of the mental health issues which challenge African-heritage populations in Europe … and in North America.” — Dr. Alice Sawyerr, Lecturer at the University of Oxford and Consultant Chartered Psychologist.
About the Editors:
Dr. Richard Majors is a Counseling Psychologist and Honorary Professor at the University of Colorado in the United States, who has been living and working in the UK for over 20 years. He is a former Clinical Fellow in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, where he co-founded the National Council of African American Men (NCAAM), one of the first umbrella groups in the United States for African American males.
Karen Carberry, MSc, Dip.Psych. is a Black British Family and Systemic Psychotherapist, Consultant Family Therapist of Orri – Specialist Day Treatment for Eating Disorders, AFT Registered Systemic Supervisor, and a Fellow of the Asian Academy of Family Therapy (AAFT). As a practitioner-scholar, she has presented papers, lectures and conducted masterclasses and seminars all over the world.
Dr. Theodore S. Ransaw is a K-12 Outreach Specialist in the College of Education at Michigan State University and Core Faculty in African and African American Studies, also at MSU. He is also a co-editor of The Handbook of Research on Black Males and the author of The Art of Being Cool: The Pursuit of Black Masculinity.
Book Details:
The International Handbook of Black Community Mental Health
Edited by Richard Majors, Karen Carberry, and Theodore Ransaw
ISBN: 9781839099656
720 pages
Available on Amazon
Register now to attend the book release and online discussion on EventBrite
For inquiries, contact Karen Carberry at karen.familytherapy@gmail.com
For more information please contact Theodore S. Ransaw at 702-578-6851 or ransawth@msu.edu