Introduction
Given the current race-relations in the United States, with racially motivated hate crimes, divisive rhetoric, and political fearmongering occurring almost daily, ethnic-minority families are at an increased risk for the development of negative mental health outcomes. One such outcome that clinicians should be mindful of and assess for is the development of trauma symptoms, such as fear, anxiety, avoidance, and helplessness, as a result of directly experiencing or witnessing racist incidents or discrimination. This is also referred to as racial trauma.
Description
Racial trauma has been defined as “an emotional injury motivated by hate or fear of a person or group based on their race or ethnicity; a racially motivated stressor that overwhelms the capacity to cope; a racially motivated, interpersonal stressor that causes harm or threatens one’s life; or a severe...
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Reynolds, J.E. (2017). Addressing Racial Trauma in Therapy with Ethnic-Minority Clients. In: Lebow, J., Chambers, A., Breunlin, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15877-8_931-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15877-8_931-1
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