On Becoming a Black Family Therapist

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...

Know that you stand on the shoulders of resistance Of ancestors who stood in persistence Know that you are the product of strong genes Of people oppressed by all means Know that you shine as answered prayers of those that came before you Of wise ones who dared to dream of what you can now do Know that you come from their work their toil and their pain Of foundations beneath all you have gained Know that you come from storytellers, drummers and dancers Of acknowledgement of their free souls even without the answers Know that you’re descendant of knowers and seers who listened inside Of survivors and thrivers through the atrocities outside Know that you come from beings who knew their oneness with All Of strong roots firmly planted during the fall Know that you are Divine A manifestation of Their great Joy Of hope Of grace An immaculate expression of faith! By: Keya F. Williams

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...

  I have a secret. And please don’t tell my husband. You see, when I am learning techniques in my counseling psychology classes, I sometimes (read very often) use them on him, or in our relationship. Don’t feel bad for him. He already believes I, and anyone else that has a degree in psychology “shrinks” him, so I reason that I might as well do what he expects. In this case, when I learned about something called Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy, I saw immediately how it could benefit our relationship, so I was eager to try it out, in a self-help kind of way. How Can EFT Help You and Your Boo? Good question! In truth EFT for couples is actually a type of therapy that you (and your partner) would go in and have about 8-20 sessions with a therapist. It’s a therapy framework that is designed to help you and your partner have a deeper more secure bond. In other words, this type of therapy will not give you scripts to improve your “communication skills,” or help you “fight better...

  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...

  When I first heard the term ecofeminism several thoughts went through my mind. What does feminism have to do with ecology? Does the term imply that nature is indeed a female? How does one combine two things that seem so different? My interest in this type of feminism was heightened after watching the webinar on Indigenous Feminisms. As I listened to some of those speakers in the webinar talk about being “keepers of life” and leaning into the womanly roles they carry, I felt great resonance and wanted to learn more. What is Ecofeminism? The term ecofeminism could be described as a philosophy that seeks to understand the connection between gender and nature. Moreover, the “eco” part of the word is better understood as ecology, not nature itself.   Ecology, as Pompeo-Fangnoli (2018) describes, is a world of interconnected relations in which everything is related to everything else, in both small and large ways. Because of this foundational understanding of ecology, ecofemin...