CHAPTER 13 MINORITY GROUP THERAPISTS: WORKING WITH MAJORITY AND OTHER MINORITY CLIENTS

Therapists of Color Therapists of color are not immune from their own cultural socialization or inheriting the biases of the society as well

Interracial Bias and Discrimination People of color become concerned about discussing interethnic and interracial misunderstandings and conflicts between various groups for : fear that such problems may be used by those in power assuage their own guilt feelings excuse their own racism

Oppressive Strategies Divide and Conquer -“as long as people of color fight among themselves, they can’t form alliances to confront the establishment” Divert attention away from the injustices of society by defining problems as residing between various racial groups

Minority-Majority and Minority-Minority Relationships Not only do we need to engage in self-examination, but it is also clear we are a stimulus to clients through appearance, speech, or other factors that reflect differences Self-disclosure, or the acknowledgment of differences, may increase feelings of similarity between therapist and client and reduce concerns about differences

Therapists’ and Counselors’ Obligations All therapists and counselors need to: Become aware of their own worldviews, their biases, values and assumptions about human behavior Understand the worldviews of their culturally diverse clients Develop culturally appropriate intervention strategies in working with culturally diverse clients