Racial Trauma in Black Clients: Effective Practice for Clinicians

Understanding and addressing the impact of racial trauma is vital for providing culturally responsive, trauma-informed care. This book explores how racial stressors affect all aspects of Black clients’ lives and offers powerful ways to support healing. Therapists and counselors will gain tools for approaching--rather than avoiding--the topic of race in individual therapy and in family, school, and community contexts. The book discusses how to incorporate aspects of racial trauma into assessment and case conceptualization; validate clients’ pain as well as their strengths; and adapt evidence-based treatments to overcome cultural gaps. It presents extensive case examples; dos and don’ts; and self-care strategies for therapists of any background. Instructive features include end-of-chapter takeaway points, bolded key terms, and an end-of-book glossary.

Jennifer R. Jones-Damis, PsyD, is Director of the Counseling Center at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. She is an active participant with the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN), particularly on the Schools Committee and the Justice Consortium Committee. Dr. Jones-Damis’s research interests focus on understanding and addressing traumatic stress and racial trauma in individuals and systems. She holds positions on the state and national boards of the Association of Black Psychologists.

Kelly N. Moore, PsyD, is Director of the Center for Psychological Services in the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. She also has a private practice providing mental health treatment, training and consultation. Dr. Moore’s clinical foci are trauma, anxiety, and perinatal disorders, and she consults and trains professionals and graduate students on culturally responsive supervision, racial trauma, and the influence of culture on the manifestation of mental health challenges.