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Racial and Ethnic Minority Mental Health Advocacy: Strategies for Addressing Racism

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Racism and Psychiatry

Part of the book series: Current Clinical Psychiatry ((CCPSY))

Abstract

The past few years have witnessed increased discussion of physician and health advocacy. This chapter discusses the concept of the physician as an advocate in addressing issues of race and racism in the field of psychiatry. The authors argue that physician advocacy is necessary for addressing multiple forms of racism and the ways in which racism shapes disparate health and health care outcomes. The chapter reviews definitions of clinician advocacy and traces historical examples of advocacy within the field of psychiatry. A multidisciplinary framework of anthropology, sociology, and psychiatry is employed to examine race and racism in the field of psychiatry. Finally, specific strategies to address racism are provided, including strategies pertaining to curricula, training, and research. Ultimately, there is a need to advocate beyond the needs of the individual patient, and the field of psychiatry and the broader field of medicine need more systemic and robust forms of advocacy to address racism.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Population Health, Dell Medical School, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA

    Chelsi West Ohueri & Virginia A. Brown

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Dell Medical School, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA

    William B. Lawson

Authors
  1. Chelsi West Ohueri
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  2. Virginia A. Brown
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  3. William B. Lawson
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chelsi West Ohueri .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Howard University Hospital, Washington, DC, USA

    Morgan M. Medlock

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Derri Shtasel

  3. Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Nhi-Ha T. Trinh

  4. Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    David R. Williams

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Ohueri, C.W., Brown, V.A., Lawson, W.B. (2019). Racial and Ethnic Minority Mental Health Advocacy: Strategies for Addressing Racism. In: Medlock, M., Shtasel, D., Trinh, NH., Williams, D. (eds) Racism and Psychiatry. Current Clinical Psychiatry. Humana Press, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90197-8_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90197-8_12

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