InvisALERT Solutions – ObservSMART

Archive for the ‘Race and Racism’ Category

Critical Themes in Mental Health Treatment of African Americans: Past, Present, and Recommendations for the Future

Part One: The Past Must our mental health community, both locally, nationally, and internationally, surrender to the many mistakes that occurred in the past regarding the care and treatment of African Americans? Or is it possible that we can critically examine the historical antecedents, thinking...

Responding to the COVID Pandemic and Racial Injustice

One of the truths that have been exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic is that while the trauma and grief of COVID-19 and the accumulated racial injustices have been widespread, the impact has been felt more strongly in some communities. COVID-19 has been much more harmful to Black and Brown communities...

Beyond Data: Strategies to Reduce Racial Missteps for Behavioral Healthcare Providers

Discussions of social determinants of behavioral health (SDBH) are often limited to data. While statistics are extremely valuable to understand the impact of institutional and systemic forces across racial and economic lines, SDBH conversations regularly exclude practical means to raise the...

Anti-Racist Organizational Transformation: Questions and Answers with Mary Pender Greene, LCSW- R, CGP and Alan Siskind, PhD

Mary Pender Greene, LCSW-R, CGP, is a psychotherapist, career/executive coach, trainer, and consultant with a private practice in Midtown Manhattan. She has 20+ years of experience helping individuals, couples, companies, and nonprofits. Mary is the President & CEO of MPG Consulting, a...

The Culturally and Racially Safe Practice

Delivering mental health services is first and foremost about people – those of all races, cultures, and socioeconomic statuses. To provide high quality culturally and racially safe, affective services means being attuned to three key areas: 1) being knowledgeable of the clients’ lived...

Vulnerable Populations: People of Color in Leadership Roles

While we all know that much stress comes with leadership, authority and responsibility, People of Color (POC) in leadership roles must also deal with the unique stressor of structural racism. Viewing Barack Obama’s experience as President clearly indicates that even highly educated, successful...

Vulnerable Populations: People of Color in Leadership Roles

While we all know that much stress comes with leadership, authority and responsibility, People of Color (POC) in leadership roles must also deal with the unique stressor of structural racism. Viewing Barack Obama’s experience as President clearly indicates that even highly educated, successful...

Seeking Health Care Services While Undocumented

This article is the fourth in a series giving voice to the perspectives of individuals with lived experiences as they share their opinions on a particular topic. The authors of this column facilitated two focus groups with their peers to inform this writing. The authors are served by Services for...

Ensuring Humanity in Human Services Work

As human services adopt more collaborative approaches through implementation of managed care, expansion of health homes, and other group treatment models, it is critical for mental health and human services professionals to understand racial oppression as an obstacle to mental and physical...

Challenges of Black Males with Mental Illness

This entry is focused on the mental health issues among Black males and the challenge of dealing with race and racism in mental health agencies. Because of the extensiveness of need, combined with stereotyping that is perhaps unique to this population, and notable gaps in culturally appropriate...