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Overcoming Unintentional Racism in Counseling and Therapy
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Overcoming Unintentional Racism in Counseling and Therapy
A Practitioner's Guide to Intentional Intervention

Second Edition


March 2005 | 288 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc
Any counselor or therapist, regardless of race, background, or motive, can engage in unintentional acts of racism. In so doing, they may inadvertently sabotage their own efforts and perpetuate the very problems they seek to overcome. Overcoming Unintentional Racism in Counseling and Therapy, Second Edition examines the dynamics and effects of racism in counseling with an emphasis on the insidiousness of unintentional racism.

Workable solutions and practical alternatives are proposed with the goal of eliminating unintentional racism. Numerous supporting clinical examples are included in order to help counselors gain new insights into their operational practices and to modify any behaviors that may interfere with a helpful intervention. The Second Edition also provides a new section on the policies and practices of agencies and other institutions in the mental health system unintentionally resulting in service disparities. Macro-system and micro-system interventions are proposed to overcome these disparities. 

Key Features:
  • The only book that addresses unintentional racism in counseling and therapy.
  • Offers a superb balance of theory and practice.
  • Provides problem identification and workable solutions to individual and institutional racism.

Overcoming Unintentional Racism in Counseling and Therapy is ideally suited as a supplemental text for theoretical courses in counseling, counseling techniques, practicum, multicultural counseling, and professional seminars.


 
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments
 
Preface
 
PART I: EXAMINING the COUNSELOR'S UNINTENTIONAL RACISM
 
Ch. 1. Minority Clients as Victims
Understanding the Victim

 
Racism in Counseling and Therapy

 
Factors Contributing to Counselor Racism

 
Chapter Summary

 
 
Ch. 2. Fifteen Propositions
Propositions

 
Chapter Summary

 
 
Ch. 3. What Is Racism?
Racism Defined

 
A Behavioral Model

 
Chapter Summary

 
 
Ch. 4. Models of Mental Health
The Deficit Model

 
The Medical Model

 
The Conformity Model

 
The Biopsychosocial Model

 
Chapter Summary

 
 
Ch. 5. Judgmental and Inferential Errors
Why Is Clinical Decision Making Difficult?

 
Four Types of Decisions

 
Prevalent Judgmental Errors

 
Chapter Summary

 
 
Ch. 6. Defensive Racial Dynamics
Ten Race-Related Defense Mechanisms

 
Chapter Summary

 
 
PART II: OVERCOMING THE COUNSELOR'S UNINTENTIONAL RACISM
 
Ch. 7. Counseling Idiographically
Five Principles

 
The Case of Ricardo Garcia

 
The Case of Ricardo Garcia

 
Chapter Summary

 
 
Ch. 8. Setting Culturally Relevant Goals
Process Goals

 
Outcome Goals

 
Chapter Summary

 
 
Ch. 9. Making Better Clinical Decisions
General Decision-Making Strategies

 
Personal Debiasing Strategies

 
Chapter Summary

 
 
Ch. 10. Managing Resistance
Understanding Resistance

 
Client Responses in Counseling

 
Strategies to Manage Resistance

 
Chapter Summary

 
 
Ch. 11. Terminating Effectively
Reducing the Chances of Premature Termination

 
Concluding Each Session Effectively

 
Recycling or Referring When Appropriate

 
Evaluating Counseling Outcomes

 
Recommending Alternative Modalities

 
Following Up When Counseling Is Over

 
Preventing Relapse

 
Chapter Summary

 
 
PART III: EXAMINING AND OVERCOMING THE UNINTENTIONAL RACISM OF THE MENTAL HEALTH SYSTEM
 
Ch. 12. Racist Practices of Institutions
Consequences of Unintentional Institutional Racism

 
Causes of Unintentional Institutional Racism

 
Categories of Unintentional Institutional Racism

 
Chapter Summary

 
 
Ch. 13. Macrosystem Interventions
Practice-Based Minority Research

 
Mental Health Care Reform

 
Multicultural Training

 
Chapter Summary

 
 
Ch. 14. Microsystem Interventions
A Core Ideology That Embraces Diversity

 
Integrated Service Networks

 
Consultation

 
Prevention and Health Promotion

 
Action Research

 
Affirmative Action

 
Chapter Summary

 
Chapter Summary

 
References

 
 
Index
About the Author

 

"Taking an action-oriented approach, [Ridley] challenges counselors 'to examine the relationship between their behavior toward minority groups and the consequences of that behavior'... Many of his case study vignettes are helpful."

Patricia M. Berliner
American Psychological Association
PsycCRITIQUES

"This book is both powerful and sobering.  It would serve as an excellent textbook for multicultural counseling classes.  It could also be a resource for counselors who are critically examining their therapeutic work with minority clients or for institutions evaluating the services provided to these clients.  Numerous examples throughout the book illustrate Ridley's points and help the text to come alive.  This book and its message will be needed as long as minority clients have negative experiences in counseling due to counselors' unintentional racism."

Kimberly Wagner
Indiana University-Bloomington
Counseling Today
Key features
The only book that addresses unintentional racism in counseling and therapy. It offers a superb balance of:
  • theory and practice  
  • problem identification and workable solutions  
  • individual and institutional racism 

 

For instructors

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ISBN: 9781452237985

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ISBN: 9780761919810
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