Students in the introductory psychology course should learn about the impact of social, economic, and cultural factors on psychological development. This goal can be accomplished by infusing Black psychology into the course. Many instructors could benefit from a model for presenting this approach, which can be applied to a variety of topic areas, such as the psychology of women, the disabled, and other disenfranchised groups. Infusing material on race and culture legitimizes these subjects as relevant areas of investigation for psychologists and permits instructors to make connections among the various units presented during the semester. A definition of Black psychology, a lecture outline, suggestions for infusing Black psychology into the entire course, small-group activities, and curriculum resources are presented. Student reactions to the presentation of this material are also discussed.
The debilitating stigma of mental illness is present in psychologists, psychology departments, and in the larger higher education environment. My reflections on my experience as an African American psychology professor living with bipolar disorder can shed light on how stigma can prevent colleagues from intervening and providing much-needed support to a colleague in crisis. I summarize the history of my struggle with mental illness and with the decision to write about it. I emphasize the importance of vigilance with respect to the fact that changes in medication can rapidly and radically impact one's mood and behavior. My insights as a prosumer can inform administrators, staff, and faculty as they develop policies and practices to assist employees with mental health concerns, which should include providing trusted colleagues with permission to contact a spouse, friend, therapist, and/or family member in the event of a change in behavior. The aim is reduced stigma, greater authenticity on the part of the person living with mental illness, and early intervention, similar to the response one would expect to a heart attack, to interrupt or prevent a prolonged episode of psychological distress. Impact StatementDue to concerns about stigma and its impact on their professional and personal lives, mental health professionals, especially those of African descent, rarely share the details of their own mental health concerns. Accounts of lived experience could enhance empathy for people with mental illness and inform the general public, the media, students, administrators, clinicians, and policy makers about the multifaceted challenges of improving mental health and reducing stigma.
African American psychology was virtually unknown 35 years ago. By the end of the 1990s, however, it had earned a solid place in U.S. college curricula. In this chapter, we provide a definition and description of the field, offer resources for instructors teaching African American Psychology, and describe specific strategies for classroom interaction. WHAT IS AFRICAN AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGY?Defining African American or Black psychology is difficult, because it is a constantly growing and changing field (see Jones, 1999aJones, , 2003. It may be distinguished from European American or White psychology in a number of ways (Fairchild, 2000). Specifically, it tends to: (a) emphasize the collective, with the group and not the individual as the unit of analysis; (b) consider current behavior within a historical context (vs. the ahistorical tendency of 195
We choose the term Africana psychology to denote the increasingly international nature of the field (Fairchild, 2017a). 2 The companion webpage for this book includes materials that instructors can use in their classes, including PowerPoint presentations about important issues in Africana psychology and classroom exercises that help students engage with other crucial topics (http://pubs.apa.org/books/supp/mena).
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