CHAPTER 9: Individuals and Families of African Descent

1. CHAPTER 9:Individuals and Families of African Descent Developing Multicultural Counseling Competence: A Systems Approach Second Edition Danica G. Hays and Bradley T. Erford

2. Terminology & Demographics • Historical labels of those of African descent • African American term coined by Reverend Jesse Jackson • Ask clients of African descent what they prefer to be called • According to the 2010 U.S. Census data, African Americans comprise 12.6% (38.9 million) of the U.S. population • Diverse immigration patterns • African Americans disproportionately face issues such as poverty and unemployment

3. African American History • One drop rule - evidence of hierarchical system. • Colorism - still exists in the Black community today • African Americans with lighter skin are often perceived as having an easier time than African Americans with darker skin • Form of internalized racism • Actively assess if skin color is in some way relevant to the client’s presenting issue

4. Discrimination Experiences • The first Africans arrived in the U.S. in 1619 as indentured servants, similar to how many White settlers came • Within 20 years there were laws against racial mixing & interracial marriage • Africans began arriving upon the shores of the United States as slaves • From the mid-1600s to 1965, laws were used to justify the physical, mental, & spiritual abuse of African Americans • Early models of mental health pathologized Africans. • drapetomania - a noted “mental illness” of slaves who tried to escape from their owners

5. Discrimination Experiences Continued • Slavery justified by assuming that Blacks were not human beings & that they could not feel pain to the same extent as Whites • Slavery ended in 1865 & the Jim Crow era began • Jim Crow laws maintained & supported segregationist policies that governed the lives of Blacks • Today’s racism is often passive, hidden, unconscious, & systemic, but is still extremely damaging and hurtful

6. Discrimination Experiences Cont. • Racial Microaggressions • Microinvalidations • Microinsults • Victims of medical experiments done without African American’s permission • In the U.S. school system of the mid-to-late 20th century, mental health professionals were involved with the disproportionate labeling of Black children as mentally retarded • Intelligence tests which were not normed on Black children or children of lower socioeconomic status were used as the sole measure for placing children into special education programs

7. Black Racial Identity • Understanding racial identity among African Americans is essential to effective counseling • Counselors must understand Black cultural variables & the clients’ level of acculturation. • A client’s Black identity can have negative implications for mental health issues & self-esteem • Internalization of the White beauty ideal, rejection of a Black identity, high negative feelings about being Black, & the disparagement of other Blacks • A positive racial identity serves a protective function against negative societal messages about being Black • Attend to acculturation as part of racial identity

8. African American Culture & Values • Western European values differ from those of African American culture • Significance of the collective over the individual, kinship & affiliation, extended family, spirituality, connectedness, harmony with nature, and holistic thinking • Counselors should not assume that all African Americans feel connected

9. Families of African Descent • No such thing as a “typical Black family” • Deficient views of Black families were perpetuated by applying Eurocentric models of family therapy to Black families • Many Black families are female-led • Counselors should not assume that no male is involved in raising the children • Counselors need to be sensitive to the role of many Black women as single parents & Black men who may be involved with their children but not living in the same household • Both roles involve multiple stressors

10. Families of African Descent • Strengths-based approach to working with Black families • Strong kinship bonds, strong work orientation, adaptability, high achievement orientation, versatility • Represent African-centered values • Counselors should emphasize positive values, support systems, & strengths of the family

11. Families of African Descent Continued • Black families may keep generational secrets • Black adult caregivers racially socialize Black children to foster a sense of racial pride, teach children about their heritage, help the child develop a positive racial identity, & discuss ways in which to deal with racism. • Black families come in all different skin tones within the same family

12. Families of African Descent Continued • African American parents, especially working class parents, are more likely than Whites to use physical punishment to discipline their children • Obedience is valued & seen as a sign of respect & as an eventual survival skill to be successful in school & future employment • Because religion & spirituality may play a part in African American family life & child rearing, counselors are encouraged to be aware of & involve community resources in treatment

13. Families of African Descent Continued • Common presenting issues of Black families may include • Financial issues, combining blended families, missing father figures, violence, multigenerational role conflict, the negative impact of colorism, and unemployment • Understanding the social & cultural context of each family is essential to working effectively with individual Black families • The multiculturally competent counselor readily understands issues common to most Black families, is connected to important community resources, uses a strengths-based approach, & views the family they are working with through the family’s cultural lens

14. Couples of African Descent • Divorce rate and number of unmarried women • Issues unique to Black couples • Strengths of Black couples • Support systems often provided by the couples’ extended families • The Black Church & other Black organizations • Gender roles • Flexible role orientation within the relationship • Cultural connections

15. Interracial Couples • The last of the miscegenation laws were repealed in 1967 • Increase in the number of interracial couples in the U.S. • Interracial and intercultural couples face unique challenges • These unique issues can have a significant impact on the quality of the couple’s relationship • Multiculturally competent counselors understand the common issues most couples deal with & the unique issues faced by Black couples & interracial couples

16. Children of African Descent • Children of African descent will face different issues depending on whether they come from middle or working class backgrounds and where they reside • Multiculturallycompetent counselors are aware of: • Racial identity • Problems children might face given their school, home, & social environments • How racism impacts normal developmental challenges children face • Available resources within the community

17. Children of African Descent Continued • Achievement gap = chronic disparity in academic performance between White and some ethnic minority students including African American students • Deficit Perspective = students who underperform, especially African Americans, are responsible for their own failure because of an innate lack of intellectual and behavioral abilities • Ecological Perspective = academic performance cannot be adequately understood without consideration of environmental variables

18. The Black Middle Class & Mental Health • More than 1/3 of the African American population is Middle Class • Are more likely to have to operate biculturally and may experience “survivor guilt” • Institutionalized racism increases psychological distress across all socioeconomic levels • Social class can have a distinct impact on the presenting treatment issues of clients of African descent • A multiculturally competent counselorunderstands how social class interacts with & affects treatment issues & experiences with discrimination

19. Gender • Presenting issues of Black women include: • Single parenthood, weight, skin color, self-esteem, depression, anxiety, parenting issues, economic struggles, perceived lack of available same-race romantic male partners, childhood sexual abuse, domestic violence, inappropriate use of anger as a defense, relational mistrust, & emotional intimacy issues • Presenting issues for men of African descent may include: • Formation of a Black male identity in a society that fears and rejects Black men as “problem people,” absent or distant relationships with father figures, self-esteem, economic struggles, domestic and other violence, relational mistrust, emotional intimacy issues, depression, anxiety & substance abuse

20. The Black Elderly • Presenting issues of Black elderly include: • Issues of poverty, poor mental & physical health care, illiteracy, gender discrepancies, employment discrimination, social & physical isolation, disability, & grief and bereavement issues • Counselors also attend to any negative stereotypes or assumptions they have about this client population

21. Black Gays & Lesbians • May feel conflicts in allegiances, struggle to integrate different aspects of their identities, & feel pressure to hide one’s gay identity from friends & family • Dealing with multiple sources of oppression can be extremely stressful • Counselors are to assess whether identity conflict (e.g., issues as a Black person, a gay person, or both) are actually relevant to the presenting treatment issue in therapy • Multiculturally competent counselors are aware of relevant community resources & are aware of their own negative assumptions about the client population in which they are working

22. General Mental Health Issues • Counselors must have an understanding of how the environment and context in which African Americans exist can affect the expression, interpretation, and prevalence rates of physical and mental illness • Lower socioeconomic status African Americans are more likely to receive poorer health care & not have health insurance • African Americans may underutilize mental health services, may only seek them out in times of crisis, & may be more severe once attaining treatment • African Americans are more likely to be misdiagnosed & to drop out of treatment earlier than their White counterparts

23. General Mental Health Issues Continued • Depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress, & schizophrenia are seen in the African American community at similar rates as with Whites, even though misdiagnosis may be common • Unique negative environmental influences that impact mental health: • Higher unemployment rates, education & occupational deficits, more grief & bereavement issues, higher rates of incarceration for Black men, higher rates of violence in urban communities, single parent status & economic hardships, the unavailability of same-race male partners for Black women, & poverty

24. Common Support Systems for Individuals of African Descent • Spirituality & religion • Participation in religious activities allows for opportunities for self-expression, leadership, & community involvement. • Black organizations (e.g., fraternities/sororities, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), extended family, Sister Circles, Brotherhood opportunities, & activities for children

25. An Afrocentric Psychological Perspective • Phillips’ (1990) NTU psychotherapy: • Describes a universal, unifying force that touches upon all aspects of existence including a spiritual force inside an individual and a spiritual force outside the individual • Counseling is considered to be a healing process based on a spiritual relationship between the client & counselor (healer) • The counselor assists the client to rediscover one’s own natural alignment • Circular Phases: Harmony, Awareness, Alignment, Actualize, & Synthesis • Goals of treatment

26. Client Centered Counseling • Focus on the relationship between counselor & client and how client change is facilitated through the development of the therapeutic relationship • Conditions include genuineness, congruence, positive regard, acceptance of the client, and empathic understanding • Client moves from a place of rigidity, remoteness from feelings and experience & distance from other people, toward fluidity, acceptance of feelings & experiences, and unity & integration of one’s self • Limitations of approach

27. Psychodynamic Counseling Approaches • Focuses on the individual and not the community • Benefits • Capacity to deal with the individual and multiple complexities of client’s life • Focus on early childhood experiences and their impact on functioning later in life • Limitations • Lack of attention to or pathologizing of cultural factors • Authoritarian style of the analyst with respect to the client • Heterosexism • Racial attitudes of White therapists

28. Adlerian Counseling • Focuses upon social interest as an organizing principle • Respectful of individual & cultural heritage • Attention to cultural factors on development & presenting treatment issues • Theoretical principles of this approach appear conducive to therapeutic work with African descent clients • Collective unity and social interest consists of working toward fitting in within the community, contributing to the community, & supporting the cultural value system of many Blacks

29. Guidelines for Work with Clients of African Descent • The ideal for counselors is to be trained in an African centered worldview counseling system & to employ the theory & techniques of that system when working with African descent clients • Establish a collaborative working relationship • Facilitate awareness through the use of clinical skills & techniques • Continuous assess • Develop and plan goals • Implement and evaluate strategies