This book addresses the unique sociocultural and historical systems of oppression that have alienated African-American and other racial minority patients within the mental healthcare system. This text aims to build a novel didactic curriculum addressing racism, justice, and community mental health as these issues intersect clinical practice. Unlike any other resource, this guide moves beyond an exploration of the problem of racism and its detrimental effects, to a practical, solution-oriented discussion of how to understand and approach the mental health consequences with a lens and sensitivity for contemporary justice issues. After establishing the historical context of racism within organized medicine and psychiatry, the text boldly examines contemporary issues, including clinical biases in diagnosis and treatment, addiction and incarceration, and perspectives on providing psychotherapy to racial minorities. The text concludes with chapters covering training and medical education within this sphere, approaches to supporting patients coping with racism and discrimination, and strategies for changing institutional practices in mental healthcare.

Origins of Racism in American Medicine and Psychiatry.- The Legacy of Slavery in Thoughts, Emotions, and Behaviors: Using Cognitive Behavioral Chapter 3: Racial/Ethnic Residential Segregation and Mental Health Outcomes.- The Intersection of Homelessness, Racism and Mental Illness.- Mental Illness, Addiction, and Incarceration: Breaking the Cycle.- Racism, Black bodies, and Psychodynamic Therapy.- Clinician Bias in Diagnosis and Treatment.- Resilience and Religious Experience.- Addressing Cultural Mistrust: Strategies for Alliance Building.- Changing Institutional Values and Diversifying the Behavioral Health Workforce.- Medical Education and Racism: Where Have We Been and Where Might We Go?.- Racial and Ethnic Minority Mental Health Advocacy: Strategies for Addressing Racism.- Clinical Toolkit: Providing Psychotherapy in a Contemporary Social Context.