Racism and Psychiatry Contemporary Issues and Interventions

This book addresses the unique sociocultural and historical systems of oppression that have alienated African-American and other racial minority patients within the mental healthcare system.  This text aims to build a novel didactic curriculum addressing racism, justice, and community mental health as these issues intersect clinical practice.  Unlike any other resource, this guide moves beyond an exploration of the problem of racism and its detrimental effects, to a practical, solution-oriented discussion of how to understand and approach the mental health consequences with a lens and sensitivity for contemporary justice issues. After establishing the historical context of racism within organized medicine and psychiatry, the text boldly examines contemporary issues, including clinical biases in diagnosis and treatment, addiction and incarceration, and perspectives on providing psychotherapy to racial minorities.  The text concludes with chapters covering training and medical education within this sphere, approaches to supporting patients coping with racism and discrimination, and strategies for changing institutional practices in mental healthcare.

 

Written by thought leaders in the field, Racism and Psychiatry is the only current tool for psychiatrists, psychologists, administrators, educators, medical students, social workers, and all clinicians working to treat patients dealing with issues of racism at the point of mental healthcare. 

Chapter 1: Origins of Racism in American Medicine and Psychiatry

Kimberly Gordon-Achebe, Danielle R. Hairston, Shadé Miller, Rupinder Legha, and Steven Starks

 

Chapter 2: The Legacy of Slavery in Thoughts, Emotions, and Behaviors: Using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to Frame the Impact of Slavery on African Americans

Sannisha K. Dale and Kimberly J. Merren

 

Chapter 3: Racial/Ethnic Residential Segregation and Mental Health Outcomes

Kellee White and Jourdyn A. Lawrence

Chapter 4: The Intersection of Homelessness, Racism and Mental Illness

Jeffrey Olivet, Marc Dones, and Molly Richard

 

Chapter 5: Mental Illness, Addiction, and Incarceration: Breaking the Cycle

David Beckmann, Keris Jän Myrick, and Derri Shtasel

 

Chapter 6: Racism, Black bodies, and Psychodynamic Therapy

Lisa L. Moore and Claire Carswell

Chapter 7: Clinician Bias in Diagnosis and Treatment

Danielle R. Hairston, Tresha A. Gibbs, Shane Shucheng Wong, and Ayana Jordan

 

Chapter 8: Resilience and Religious Experience

Morgan Medlock and Ezra E. H. Griffith

Chapter 9: Addressing Cultural Mistrust: Strategies for Alliance Building

Ni-Ha T. Trinh, Joey C. Cheung, Esther E. Velásquez, Kiara Alvarez, Christine Crawford, and Margarita Alegría

 

Chapter 10: Changing Institutional Values and Diversifying the Behavioral Health Workforce

Stephanie Pinder-Amaker and Kimberlyn Leary

 

Chapter 11: Medical Education and Racism: Where Have We Been and Where Might We Go?

Derri Shtasel, Andrew D. Carlo, and Ni-Ha T. Trinh

 

Chapter 12: Racial and Ethnic Minority Mental Health Advocacy: Strategies for Addressing Racism

Chelsi West Ohueri, Virginia A. Brown, and William B. Lawson

 

Chapter 13: Clinical Toolkit: Providing Psychotherapy in a Contemporary Social Context

Kali D. Cyrus and Asale A. Hubbard