Working With and Counseling Black Clients

Fulfills Diversity and Multicultural Issues

While an overarching level of cultural competence is important in working with ALL clients, a greater understanding of the unique experiences of certain races and cultures is likely to facilitate a more respectful and empathic therapeutic alliance. This advanced beginner/intermediate course gives mental health professionals a greater understanding of Black clients and the tools needed to more effectively provide counseling. The course materials are drawn from selected chapters from the Routledge book collection, Multicultural Psychology, Fourth Edition, and Multicultural Counseling and Psychotherapy, Sixth Edition and from the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: African Americans from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

The first section of the course begins with a brief video that covers contemporary terms used to describe Blacks and addresses the importance of checking with clients about their preferred terminology. Next, the course provides an overview of the historical and cultural issues related to the Black experience from the 1600s to the present. Gender, sexuality, socioeconomic status, and religion are also included as they intersect with race.

In the second section of the course, mental health professionals learn to identify potential problems warranting counseling and to discern the important clinical considerations in working with Black clients, all within a lifespan perspective. Mental health professionals also explore whether individual, group, and/or family therapy approaches are likely to be helpful in particular situations. The section concludes with graphic data from the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health which presents trends in alcohol use, illicit drug use, serious mental illness, depression, and suicide among Blacks and unmet treatment needs.