On Becoming a Black Family Therapist

This 10-minute talk offers an autochthonous position, grounded in Optimal Conceptual Theory to understand the psychological well-being of Black families by centering joy as a healing modality. It is geared to academics and clinicians open to considering strengths-based decolonized approaches to working with Black parents and their families. View the full talk here!

My mom very often uses the phrase “your past is your present” and when we look at psychology with an Afrocentric lens there is great emphasis on ancestral knowledge from the frame of “I am because they were.” But when it comes to parenting Black kids in the present day how much of bringing the past into the present is helpful and how much is harmful? On today’s episode of Before the Street Lights Come On, with Jamaal, we talk about bridging the gap between past and present in his parenting of two Black kids. Watch complete episode.

This doctoral journey I’ve been taking in counseling psychology has illuminated some interesting truths for me. The first is that the research methodologies I’ve learned about in my classes, mostly quantitative methods are limited in nature for an academic who studies Black people. Quantitative methods are great at measuring and analyzing but are not so great at understanding and describing. And what I feel is most lacking in the research on Black parents’ experiences of being Black parents is a more nuanced description and understanding of our experiences.   For this, and other reasons, I’ve chosen to gear my training towards qualitative research because I notice how much scientific inquiry from this methodology is lacking. How can we possibly claim full understanding of humans, if we do not value investigating them with multiple strategies?   I realize in choosing this path I may never become the most renowned psychologist, yet I must do what is in alignment with who I am ...

Today, in honor of my deceased father’s 74 th birthday I share a personal story that reflects the nuanced dynamics of the psychological damage that often occurs in families. My story is unique to me, but I know it shares flavors with other people’s experiences, and I hope that in reading this you may find a piece of yourself and your own healing. My dad loved me deeply. I know he did. He held the vibration of love and adoration for me. In my eyes he did lots of things wrong, but in my heart, he could do no wrong. I felt from him, in his presence, the love and holding that he had for me. I was his princess. His sweetheart. I felt that with all my heart and soul, yet I could not square that feeling with the reality of our human relationship. As a five- or six-year-old, I would sit with him in silence as he watched football. On his lap, the safest place I knew of at the time. While he watched and smoked his cigarettes. While I allowed us to be wrapped in smoke. While I grasped at the...

ABSTRACT This systematic literature review explores the ways in which Black parents’ experiences of interpersonal and vicarious racism impacts parenting strategies and parent-child attachment. Using established guidelines published by PRISMA, 269 studies were identified and subject to abstract review.   Of the 22 articles included in the study, findings suggest that the majority (82%) of empirical studies on this topic focus on racial socialization (41%) and parenting styles (41%), 68% of studies identified used a quantitative over qualitative research design, and none of the included studies approached this topic from an Afrocentric research orientation. Limitations and future directions are discussed. Keya F. Williams, M.Ed.,  Christopher T. H. Liang, Ph.D.,  Chisom F. Onwuegbu, B.A. Lehigh University, College of Education INTRODUCTION Ø   Black lives have lacked the safety and protections afforded to the dominant group in America. Ø   Parenting while ...

As I’ve mentioned in a previous post , I’m deeply inspired by Carl Rogers’ person-centered approach to therapy. However, like anything else, it is not without its shortcomings, and as a clinician that uses this approach with clients, it’s a good idea for me to think critically about the strategies I use. Stages of the Therapeutic Process If we think about a course of therapy as one that is broken down into three stages: 1) exploration, 2) insight, and 3) action, I see Rogerian therapy as most effective when counselor and client are in the exploration and insight stages of therapy. During these stages of therapy, clients are uncovering the roots of their presenting problems and allowed to gain a better understanding of themselves. Person-centered therapists, with our nondirective approach to engaging with clients, seems to be a good fit here. However, I can see that this style of client engagement may become a problem when clients enter the action stage of the therapeutic process. D...

  In the article, Burton and colleagues (see footnote for full reference) address the idea of “homeplace” in working with African American clients in family therapy.   First, the authors describe the concept of homeplace for Black Americans as a space of nurturance, created by a sense of community anchored by a shared sense of struggle and triumph.   Homeplace is a construct, originally coined by the feminist activist bell hooks, who argued that African Americans, because their ancestors were uprooted from their original lands and placed in a country in which they were unwelcomed and marginalized, lack a sense of belonging to the country and culture in which they abide. Therefore, Black Americans must deliberately create a space, where they can be nurtured physically and spiritually, and feel safe to connect with other African Americans authentically. Honoring the Homeplace in the Therapy Room Next, the authors explain how African Americans often yearn for a homepla...

In early 2018 I had absolutely no intention of returning to school. No interest in taking a class, let alone shooting for a full out PhD program. Yet here I am. Finishing my second Master’s, this time in counseling and human services and ready to begin PhD studies in the fall in counseling psychology. But this picture, the one I plopped into this blog post was not supposed to be taken. Yes, I worked my butt off, taking 4 classes a semester, while working part-time and doing the mom duty things for the last 2 years, but I had not planned to walk across that stage at the commencement ceremony. I planned to sit at home that Sunday, maybe watch some Food Network, and certainly take a nap or two. However, it seems my eldest son (at just 16 years old) had some wisdom that I did not.   He actually shamed me when I told him that I had not planned to walk. He told me that I should for sure celebrate this accomplishment, and that he was looking forward to seeing me take my walk of pride....