A new article published in Review of General Psychology explores how systemic racism has affected the mental health of people of color (POC). Authors Wei-Chin Hwang and Yuhan Kong of Claremont McKenna College argue that beyond acknowledging the social determinants of mental health, the psy-disciplines need to focus on increasing access to care, diversifying the mental health workforce, improving the cultural competence of practitioners, and developing culturally relevant treatment plans for diverse communities.
The authors used an ABC-R method to analyze the problem and produce a list of changes needed in order to start dealing with racism within mental health institutions. The A in ABC-R stands for Antecedents, the B for Behaviors, and C for Consequences. By analyzing systemic racism through that method, they were able to develop their “R” or recommendations. The authors write:
“In order to move beyond the aspirational and performatory anti-racism, a roadmap that outlines specific strategies to counteract systemic racism in mental health care and psychological services is needed.”
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Kevin J. Gallagher is a Critical Psychology Ph.D. Student and Adjunct Professor at Point Park University. His work focuses on rethinking mental health, substance use, and addiction through critical lenses, focusing on the effects of macro-level issues on individual experience.