Breaking the Silence Around Race in Training, Practice, and Research

Abstract

1903) commented that the color line would be the problem of the 20th century. Indicators from many sources, including the three Major Contribution articles, suggest that race continues to be an unsolved challenge for the 21st century. These articles offer provocative examinations of race issues in counselor training and empirical research and in diagnosing, understanding, and treating racist incident-based trauma. Each utilizes a different methodology and includes qualitative, quantitative, and literature review approaches. This reaction will offer discussion points and conclude with a brief discussion of common themes.

Is Allison More Likely Than Lakisha to Receive a Callback From Counseling Professionals? A Racism Audit Study

“…The only way to be freed from behaviors that are driven by unconscious racial biases is to uncover and dismantle them (Sue et al, 2007). To this end, counseling training programs have been encouraged to support students in overcoming their discomfort and resistance to talking about racism by frequently offering secure and constructive learning spaces (Sanchez-Hucles & Jones, 2005). It may be beneficial for programs to be structured in a manner that facilitates inquiry and allows trainees to experience and sit with fear and vulnerability (Young & Davis-Russell, 2002).…”

Treatment Disparities among African American Men with Depression: Implications for Clinical Practice

“…52 In such as case, the psychological issues of African American men may seem more simplistic in comparison with their White counterparts. 54 Providers disproportionately diagnose African American men with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders compared with White men, who are more likely diagnosed with mood disorders. 55 These clinical errors are found even when providers use structured diagnostic interviews.…”

“…However, it acknowledges the historically negative treatment of African American men in everyday situations. 54,75 …”

The Challenge of White Dialectics: Making the “Invisible” Visible

“…In closing, I believe the concept of White dialectics is a useful framework that adds greatly to our understanding of White racial identity development (Helms, 1995), Whiteness (Sue, 2004), White privilege (McIntosh, 2002), the psychosocial costs of racism to Whites (Spanierman, Poteat, Beer, & Armstrong, 2006), and why aversive racism thrives in an environment of naiveté and invisibility (Dovidio & Gaertner, 2000). The White dialectics proposed by Todd and Abrams are consistent with findings in the research literature (Sue et al, 2010;Utsey et al, 2005), theorizing by racial identity scholars (Helms, 1995), observations by educators and trainers in the field of race relations (Sanchez-Hucles & Jones, 2005), and the experiential reality of people of color (Sue, 2003). I again compliment Todd and Abrams for a fine example of qualitative research and believe that their White dialectic formulation constitutes an important contribution to the research, education, and training literature.…”