Little is known about black women's perceptions of service barriers in mental health and substance treatment. This article reports the findings of a qualitative study that explored the perceptions of 29 black women who received treatment in a small urban Northeastern city. Findings of the focus group data revealed participants' experiences of services as discussed through the themes of bias and stigma; incompatible perspectives of wellness versus illness between consumer and provider; consumer mistrust; and holistic wellness. Participants endorsed counseling as a treatment strategy but were adverse to the use of medication. Practice and research implications are discussed.
This paper investigates the ways in which Indigenous Australians respond individually, and collectively, to racial vilification by means of social media sites. Introducing the concept of "shared recognition" this paper describes the collective sense of anger and frustration experienced by Indigenous people when traumatic events in the public domain act as reminders of ongoing colonialism. Three examples are explored to demonstrate collective trauma as a result of racist and discriminatory acts that are made public, and the ways in which social media is utilised by Indigenous Australians to make sense of and cope with trauma.
Many black women in the United States experience unique stressors that often impede their ability to interact and cope effectively in their psychosocial environment. The study in this article examined factors affecting the ability of black women to cope with everyday stressors and to master situations that induce psychological distress. Using an experimental design composed of an intervention group and a nontreatment control group with pretest and posttest measures, the study tested three hypotheses concerning the effectiveness of a psychoeducational group intervention involving 58 undergraduate black college women. Results revealed that after the eight-week group program the level of perceived stress among intervention group participants was reduced significantly compared with members of the control group. The difference remained statistically significant after control variables were taken into account. However, the data failed to support the hypotheses that the intervention would have a statistically significant effect on reducing the participants' external locus of control and increasing active coping. Although this study was conducted with a small sample of black college women, the findings offer preliminary data on the effectiveness of culture-based group interventions with black women aimed at enhancing psychosocial competence.
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