Representation of Race and Ethnicity in Counseling and Counseling Psychology Journals

Abstract

Literature reviews have concluded that People of Color are underrepresented in psychological literature; however, the fields of counseling and counseling psychology have taken a clear affirmative stance with respect to human diversity. This study sought to evaluate the representation of People of Color in four key journals across the 2000–2019 timespan: The Counseling Psychologist, Journal of Counseling Psychology, Journal of Counseling & Development, and Counselling Psychology Quarterly. Journal articles were coded for variables including focus on racial/ethnic minority (REM) groups and article content topics. Results indicated that 26.3% of the articles were coded as REM-focused (3.8% focused on African Americans, 4.1% on Asian Americans, 3.1% on Latinxs, and 0.7% on Native Americans). The need for additional research is especially notable in the case of Latinxs (the least represented REM group relative to United States Census estimates) and for several multicultural topics that remain underrepresented in the literature.

Radical Healing Community-Based Participatory Research to Eliminate Health Disparities

“…Although research by counseling health psychologists and other health researchers has the potential to reduce health disparities and improve health in Black communities and other communities of Color, racism and cultural insensitivity in research undermine the participation of minority communities (American Psychological Association [APA], 2021). Manifestations of racism in research include: (a) not naming structural racism in the titles, abstracts, or body of health research (Boyd et al, 2020; Hardeman et al, 2018); (b) the exploitation of Black communities through “helicopter research” (i.e., researchers arriving, collecting data, and leaving); (c) using the deficit model research approach, which is using NHWs as the reference group for Black performance and noting group differences as “deficits” among Black Americans (Srinivasan & Williams, 2014); (d) failing to engage Black community members as research partners (Hawkins et al, 2022); (e) not adequately sharing grant funding with or disseminating results among community partners and target communities; (f) providing low or no compensation to Black community research participants and assistants (Nipp et al, 2019; Whyte, 2021); (g) using research measures and tools focused on racial minorities that were developed using all or nearly all NHW samples; (h) not fostering sustainability of effective interventions for Black Americans; and (i) interpreting findings from studies focused on Black communities without input from members of these communities.…”

“…Another implication of the radical healing CBPR model is that research and interventions in Black communities must include members of these communities as research partners, including those who are over age 55 years. Failing to engage Black community members as research partners is a manifestation of racism (Hawkins et al, 2022). Black community members can also serve as trainers and teachers in research, intervention research courses, and in practica.…”

The hidden curriculum of academic writing: Toward demystifying manuscript preparation in counseling psychology.

“…It is equally imperative to ensure that there is substantial diversity in the topics and authors of manuscripts submitted for publication in counseling psychology (cf. Hawkins et al, 2022) and that those manuscripts are composed in ways that are likely to yield acceptance—that is, actual publication.…”

Recreating diasporic identity and community: Examination of transgender and nonbinary latinx healing from family rejection.

“…The earliest psychological research publications on transgender people of color date to 2009, over a decade ago (Barnett et al, 2019). Despite this collection of scholarly work, there remains a paucity of research with transgender people from specific communities of color (e.g., Latinx), especially as it relates to their experiences of violence (i.e., hate crime, murder, and family-based mistreatment) and how healing from such violence is enacted (Hawkins et al, 2022). Family rejection is among these understudied issues, despite being a pervasive experience for Latinx transgender individuals (James & Salcedo, 2017).…”