The book “Counseling American minorities by Atkinson, Morten and Sue, provides information regarding the history and experiences of each of the four ethnic groups (African Americans, American Indians, Asian Americans, and Hispanic Americans), and examines how psychological service providers might better provide mental health services to members of each group. For chapters related to each of these four ethnic groups, people who have first-hand personal and professional exposure to the experiences and needs of members of each group. At the conclusion of each section are cases and questions that can be used to stimulate class discussion about providing psychological services to clients from that group and role-playing exercises.
In America, racism, discrimination, and oppression have stripped many African-American men from fully accessing and achieving the social and economic rewards of their society. Although some have been successful in achieving the "American dream" or at least pieces of it, this accomplishment does not come without psychological and emotional distress. Such distress would make anyone, including an African-American man; feel uncertain about himself, his society, and how he measures up to others' standards. More important, this distress could hamper his ability to function effectively in today's technologically advanced society.
Multicultural rehabilitation counseling is recommended for cultural groups such as African Americans. This approach focuses on the particular needs of the cultural group. Some impedance that rehabilitation counselors may encounter are cultural conflict, counter transference, prejudices, stereotypes and lack of understanding on what it means to be an African American. Some recommendations are to employ staff of different nationalities, allow clients to express their cultural identity and train staff on proper techniques to provide service to African Americans. The authors suggest that limited information exists regarding how cultural-specific issues such as being an African American client influence the rehabilitation counseling process..............
