Problem:
Despite the evidence that racial minorities experience higher rates of physiological and psychological stress due to the traumatic and oppressive nature of racism, individuals of Color are less likely to seek therapeutic treatment than their White peers (Fripp & Carlson, 2017; Burgess et al., 2008). Many factors contribute to racial minorities' decision to not pursue mental health care services. Social, familial, and religious stigma, as well as distrust of the healthcare system at large serve as predictors of whether mental health services will be sought by racial minorities in the United States (Carlson et al., 2014; Dunbar & Blanco, 2014).
Research now suggests, however, that hesitancy to seek mental health services is also largely based on perceptions that matters of race will be dismissed by the therapist when seeking support (Fripp & Carlson, 2017). Work, Estrellado, Rosenberg, Cropper, & Dalenberg (2014) suggest that the perceptions of racial minorities' regarding therapists' dismissive attitudes toward matters of race and culture to be true. They found that in cross-racial therapeutic dyads where the therapist was White and the client was a racial minority, matters of race were either evaded, over-emphasized, or ignored in a therapeutically meaningful way. Respondents reported that the therapist's dismissive approach to treatment greatly hindered their ability to trust their therapist and continue in the therapeutic relationship (Work et al., 2014).
As White providers constitute nearly 90% of the mental health care workforce, racial minorities that do seek much-needed services will ultimately receive care that is ineffective (Lin, Stamm, & Christidis, 2018). Within the provision of mental health services, Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs) provide nearly 90% of mental health and counseling services in the United States and are the primary providers of services for racial minorities (Salsberg, Quigley, Mehfoud, Acquaviva & Wyche, 2017).
As you will inevitably provide services to minoritized and racialized populations, it is imperative that you grapple with the reality of race-based trauma and traumatic stress. Additionally, it is important that you develop an understanding of trauma-informed care and explore how you would implement it in your future practice.
The question:
Engage and explore the intersection of race-based trauma and traumatic stress and trauma-informed care. Need Assignment Help?