Intervention Strategies for Healing Multigenerational Racial Traumas in African American Clients and Families — Dr. Nancy Boyd-Franklin
About this Event
This presentation will address the issues of multigenerational racial trauma and race-based traumatic stress experienced by many African Americans in response to traumatic incidents that have occurred throughout their history in this country. It will explore clients’ direct personal experiences of racial trauma, as well as the vicarious racial trauma experienced by countless African Americans, who have repeatedly listened to multigenerational stories about racism experienced by their ancestors, including slavery, Jim Crow laws, and lynchings in the past. In more recent generations, they have heard about their elders’ experiences of disrespect, microaggressions, discrimination, racism, prejudice and violence by police and others. Many Black people have watched current and past videos of these events on social media and on the news. These incidents are a part of the racism pandemic and they can trigger the pain of experiences of multigenerational racial trauma that their family members and other Black people have experienced. The numerous shootings and killings of Black men and women have created profound mental health issues and trauma for many African Americans, and have stirred up intense feelings of anger, rage, outrage, sadness, depression, hopelessness, anxiety, and fear for those whom they love. For generations, Black families have been concerned with the safety of their sons and daughters when they are faced with racist experiences. Historically many African American families, in response to these feelings and fears, have utilized “The Talk” to prepare their children, particularly their sons, for experiences of racism by the police and others. This presentation will discuss this racial socialization intervention. It will also explore other intervention strategies, which counselors and therapists can utilize to heal multigenerational racial trauma in therapy with African American clients and families. The ways in which cultural strengths including spirituality, religion, extended family and community bonds can be utilized to promote resilience and healing will also be discussed. White therapists, and those from other ethnic and racial groups, often struggle with how to raise these painful topics with African American clients in cross-racial and cross-cultural treatment. This presentation will discuss specific ways in which these issues can be addressed in therapy. Videotaped material will also be presented.
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