How to counsel African American Clients African Americans are one of the most diversified groups of people that make up about 13.6% of the US. Population, totaling over 42 million people (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2010). Many African American families can trace their origins back 200 years to slavery while others identify with places such as the West Indies, South America, and many countries in Africa. The majority of this population resides in the southern states (57%) and slightly more than half (51%) live in major cities around the country (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2010). African Americans on a large scale have a part in the transformation of diversity in the United States population. Blacks have been oppressed as a people for so long,
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The individual must also look into the origins of the population and learn about the facts of daily life to attempt to grasp an idea of the perspectives of African Americans. African Americans have had an uphill battle since colonial times but although slavery times have passed, African Americans still experience a fair amount of inequality in today’s society (Berliner, 2013). The field of psychology has suffered a great loss of data and possible discovery from the bias towards African Americans since it was generally accept that they had no ability to desire higher brain function and would never need mental treatment (Berliner, …show more content…
Research has shown that some African Americans believe they should not expose their personal information to the public and “mental health problems should be addressed within the family” (2007). Another study on African Americans suggests that due to the hardships that they endured through slavery, African Americans have developed a “resilient” mindset and ready to endure any adversity that occurs in life (2007). For instance, African Americans generally believe that they are “strong Black men or women” and they regard mental illness as a weakness or a sign of being ‘crazy’ (Constantine). This perception towards the mental health system is one of the main causes in which African Americans are reluctant to invest in
The individual must also look into the origins of the population and learn about the facts of daily life to attempt to grasp an idea of the perspectives of African Americans. African Americans have had an uphill battle since colonial times but although slavery times have passed, African Americans still experience a fair amount of inequality in today’s society (Berliner, 2013). The field of psychology has suffered a great loss of data and possible discovery from the bias towards African Americans since it was generally accept that they had no ability to desire higher brain function and would never need mental treatment (Berliner, …show more content…
Research has shown that some African Americans believe they should not expose their personal information to the public and “mental health problems should be addressed within the family” (2007). Another study on African Americans suggests that due to the hardships that they endured through slavery, African Americans have developed a “resilient” mindset and ready to endure any adversity that occurs in life (2007). For instance, African Americans generally believe that they are “strong Black men or women” and they regard mental illness as a weakness or a sign of being ‘crazy’ (Constantine). This perception towards the mental health system is one of the main causes in which African Americans are reluctant to invest in