Black & Brown Communities

Paving the Way for Black Male Leadership

Even before Courtland C. Lee, PhD, and S. Kent Butler, PhD, LPC, embarked on a career in counseling, they were both dedicated to giving back to the Black community and lending a hand to uplift Black men.

Rethinking Masculinity

How gendered norms and expectations affect men’s mental health.

Adoption Complexities

Counselors can help transracial and transnational adoptees heal the wounds from separation and being raised in an all-white world.

Racial bias in gifted and talented programs

A recent article in a special issue of the Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development explores why racial bias often prevents Black boys from being placed in advanced learning programs.

The maternal mental health of Black women

Because Black women in the United States face an alarmingly higher rate of maternal mortality and mental health conditions, counselors should be prepared to help clients manage their mental health while also advocating for quality care from health pr

Mental health care stigma in Black communities

Black individuals are more likely to experience mental health problems but are less likely to seek treatment for a variety of reasons.

Responding to the youth mental health crisis in schools

A youth mental health crisis is rising to a crescendo in American schools, so now more than ever, school-based counselors need support and buy-in from school staff, parents and outside mental health professionals.

African Americans and the reluctance to seek treatment

Amid talks of how African Americans have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, the Tuskegee experiment has been cited as a kind of landmark explanation of why African Americans are reluctant to seek treatment.

Wanted: Bilingual and bicultural counselors

Successful therapeutic relationships are built on trust and understanding, so counselors can ill afford to have words and phrases become “lost in translation.” Cultural competency on the part of counselors is also crucial...

Black mental health matters

Counselors can help clients heal from racial trauma and take steps to intervene in the racist systems that negatively affect the mental health of Black Americans.

The historical roots of racial disparities in the mental health system

Focusing primarily on the race of the provider and the client, while valid, is an approach that does not consider the system itself, the functions of the diagnosis...