Overcoming Unintentional Racism in Counseling and Therapy: A Practitioner′s Guide to Intentional Intervention

by Charles R. Ridley

Overcoming Unintentional Racism in Counseling and Therapy, Second Edition examines the dynamics and effects of racism in counseling with an emphasis on the insidiousness of unintentional racism.. The Second Edition   provides a new section on the policies and practices of agencies and other institutions in the mental health system unintentionally resulting in service disparities. Macro-system and micro-system interventions are proposed to overcome these disparities. 

Genres: Psychology, Counselling, Social Work, Nonfiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 1994

Reviews

[Brandt · Rating 3 out of 5]

An understatement would be to claim that we all have attitudes and opinions about the topic of race. Further, many people make fantastical claims of race neutrality or colorblindness. Nevertheless, throughout the systems of modern government and modern business practices, racism is still prevalent. In this book, Charles R. Ridley addresses these racial issues as they pertain to the mental health services and the practice of counseling and therapy.

The preliminary point of emphasis is through Ridley’s operational definition of racism as,

[A]ny behavior or pattern of behavior that tends to systematically deny access to opportunities or privileges to members of one racial group while allowing members of another racial group to enjoy those opportunities or privileges (Ridley, 1989; Taborn, personal communication, February 1977; as cited in Ridley, 2005, p. 29).

The book is divided into three parts that (a) examine the process of unintentional racism as it pertains to the counselor; (b) implementation strategies to overcome unintentional racism on the part of the counselor; and (3) the process of examining and overcoming the unintentional racism prevalent in the delivery systems of mental health.

The prevalent models of human behavior within the social sciences either emphasize the causes or the impact of behavior. From the causal aspect of human behavior, the assertion is that when the motivational sources of these behaviors are uncovered (made conscious), a self-evaluation can occur and productive changes in personality can be made. When viewed through the lens of causal attribution, the research is focused on the bigotry, biases, and prejudices that allow racism and oppression to flourish. Consequently, this forces change to occur from within an individual before expanding outwardly to the meso and macro systems which are already infected.

In opposition to the causal view of human behavior, Ridley attempts to approach racism from both the counselor, and the systems that delivers the services perspective, utilizing the understanding of the impact racism has on the minority consumers of these services. By identifying particular racist behaviors and tendencies, Ridley provides a rich description of how unintentional racism impacts minority consumers of services.

In the first part of the book – the examination of the process of unintentional racism as it pertains to the counselor – Ridley explains the need to accurately understand the victims of racism from their own perspective. This is challenging because there is generally “[f]eelings of shame, self-blame, humiliation…” that may be present – and brought to fruition – in the meeting with a mental health professional (Ridley, 2005, p.5). In these situations, it is important that counselor’s understand their own biases, prejudiced, and racism before attempting to truly understand the subjective view of a minority client. As Kelly (1990) stated, “…counselors generally do not remain value neutral even when they intend to do so” (Kelly, 1990; as cited in Ridley, 2005, p. 13). From the perspective of unintentional racism, this is important because “[r]acism is what people do, and that means it can be observed, repeated and measured. (Ridley, 2005, p. 29). Two additional key concepts from the first part of the book are (a) the understanding that the judgment counselor’s make may only be secondary in importance to the counseling relationship; and (b) research suggests that racial bias is prevalent in the diagnosis of mental health condition in the United States (Simon et al. 1973; Helzer, 1975; Bell & Mehta, 1980; Keisling, 1981; Garb, 1997; as cited in Ridley, 2005).

The second part of the book – the implementation of strategies to overcome unintentional racism on the part of the counselor – offers some ideas that seem so basic to the counseling profession that it may come as a shock that they are not understood in the greater scheme of the counseling profession. Namely, Ridley’s fourth principle which suggests that “[t]he most comprehensive understanding of any individual comes only through an examination of the person’s integrated biological, psychological, and sociological experiences” (Ridley, 2005, p. 88). Additionally, Ridley explains the important distinction between process and outcome goals and how these goals can be set in respect to the client’s relevant culture. Moreover, Ridley offers strategies for counselor’s to consider in order to make better clinical decisions.

In the third part of the text Ridley suggests a blueprint for overcoming the unintentional racism prevalent in the delivery systems of mental health. By examining the consequences and causes of racism in institutions, Ridley presents a useful formula for reforming the practice. As Ridley suggests, “[a]ll policies are predicated on sets of underlying values. Values are the criteria that social systems use in determining objectives as well as the methods for attaining those objectives” (Ridley, 2005, p. 198). Hence, if real change is to be seen, there needs to be a focus on policy that pursues the goals of overcoming racism rather than attempting to achieve “color blindness” (Ridley, 2005, p. 199). In other words, color blindness is really a defensive tactic that may lead to a further marginalization of an already oppressed person leading to the very outcome that the policy is attempting to avoid.

Ultimately, Ridley suggests that regardless of where procedures and policies originate from, constructive change in the actual delivery of mental health services must be implemented if racism is to be overcome. Moreover, if the strategies and blueprint outlined in this text are implemented, the actual goal of delivering competent and caring services to all people can be achieved.

Happy Reading!

References:

Bell, C.C., & Mehta, H. (1980). The misdiagnosis of Black patients with manic depressive illness. Journal of the National Medical Association, 72, 141-145.

Garb, H.N. (1997). Race bias, social class bias, and gender bias in clinical judgment. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 4, 99-120.

Helzer, J.E. (1975). Bipolar affective disorder in Black and White men. Archives of General Psychiatry, 32, 1140-1143.

Keisling, R. (1981). Underdiagnosis of manic-depressive illness in a hospital unit. American Journal of Psychiatry, 138, 672-673.

Kelly, T.A. (1990). The role of values in psychotherapy: A critical review of process and outcome effects. Clinical Psychology Review, 10, 171-186.

Ridley, C.R. (2005). Overcoming Unintentional Racism in Counseling and Therapy (2nd Ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

Simon, R.J., Fleiss, J.L. Gurland, B.J., Stiller, P.R., & Sharpe, L. (1973). Depression and schizophrenia in hospitalized Black and White mental patients. Archives of General Psychiatry, 28, 509-512.

[Carly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Multicultural education is something that is often scorned--not because people hate diversity or multiculturalism (although some do), but because the same message is constantly given: If you treat people differently you're racist, and that's bad. I'm not about to say that racism is good, but making that the message, most people are not going to illingly say, "Yes! You're right! I'm racist! I know it's bad, but that's who I am." Rather, a person is more likely to choose the path of denial: Nope, I treat everyone the same and I'm a good person.

The premise of this book takes away the intentions behind your behavior. In some instances intention makes a difference. Unfortunately, when it comes to discrimination--it doesn't. This book encourages the reader to look not at their intentions, but the results of their behavior. There are times when we think we are doing what is best for others, but we are really keeping them oppressed.

It doesn't have to be intentional to be discriminatory.

That statement is important--because it allows a person (myself included) to admit: I have acted prejudiced toward certain groups of people, even if I didn't mean to. ...Then work on that can be made.

A great book that I would recommend for anyone. Especially counselors and educators.