Black History Month 2022: Black Health & Wellness: Books

A bestseller in its second edition, the third edition of Assessing and Treating Culturally Diverse Clients is extensively revised and updated with new materials to enhance the contents across chapters. This book quickly summarizes key practical guidelines that all clinicians can apply when assessing, diagnosing, or treating culturally diverse clients. The author accents clinical work with African American, Hispanic, American Indian, and Asian clients.. Some of the topics covered include a description of cultural variables in the DSM-IV that may affect assessment and treatment across groups; explanations of epidemiological mental health data across groups; a discussion on how to apply data from culturally specific, biased measures; and a description of many of the important factors to consider during the delivery of treatment. This practical volume also offers guidelines for the prevention of attrition. Assessing and Treating Culturally Diverse Clients is an excellent text for any course in the mental health academic discipline. It is also an ideal resource for mental health professionals seeking a license to practice in their respective field.

This pioneering work is the most comprehensive book on Black families in therapy to appear in the clinical literature. It is unprecedented in its attention to the cultural diversity among Black families, its emphasis on the utilization of cultural strengths in therapy, and on its application of the concept of clinical empowerment. Dr. Boyd-Franklin also gives thoughtful attention to the therapist's use of self and the subtleties which are often involved in the treatment process. Highlighting the diversity among Black Afro-American families, the author's first five chapters explore a number of cultural issues including racism, racial identification, and skin color; extended family patterns and informal adoptions; role flexibility and boundary confusion; religion and spirituality. Numerous case examples provide rich illustrations of these topics. The latter part of the book further explores socioeconomic differences with specific chapters on poor inner-city, single-parent, and middle-class Black families. An important contribution of this work is its elaboration of the Multisystems Model which allows family therapists to intervene with Black families at multiple levels including the individual, the family, the extended family, church and community networks, and the social service system. Dr. Boyd-Franklin's clear straightforward presentation of this model will allow the practicing therapist to apply it to even the most complex treatment realities. In addition, this Multisystems Model has applicability to many other ethnic groups and treatment situations. For training programs that include ethnicity, culture, and the treatment of Black families in their curriculum, this book provides a comprehensive syllabus. It is essential reading for family therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, medical practitioners, pastoral counselors, educators, and public agency administrators. For students and practitioners in these fields it provides a scholarly, incisive analysis that sets a standard for ethnicity studies in the therapeutic arena.

Health Concerns of Black Americans This is an important book--a vital source for policy makers and for all citizens concerned with issues of importance to the nation and to the black community. --John E. Jacob, president and CEO, National Urban League, Inc. A detailed look at how health risks such as AIDS, chemical depAndency, cancer, violence, sickle-cell anemia, infant mortality, and lead poisoning are affecting the black community. It offers health professionals helpful strategies for providing improved health care and disease prevention efforts to this population.