Abstract
African-Americans have a greater likelihood to experience psychological distress as compared to other racial populations; however, they are less likely to seek mental health treatment. Their prolonged and cumulative experiences of racism and discrimination create barriers to treatment services, which negatively impact mental health treatment outcomes. Research suggests that there is a need for more culturally competent treatment to strengthen treatment outcomes within African-American communities. Social work field education coins itself as the pedagogy of social work education. It becomes the role of social work field education to prepare new practitioners to address the unique needs of vulnerable populations and begin to bridge the gap in current inequities in mental health treatment. A content analysis was conducted to examine policies, specifically related to outpatient treatment regulations. Policy documents were collected from Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia and surveyed according to appropriateness and effectiveness in providing mental health services to African-Americans. The results showed an emphasis on licensing requirements for treatment facilities and standard treatment practices. There was a deficiency in requirements for training across all three jurisdictions, with little emphasis made for culturally competent training. Recommendations were made to strengthen organizational policies by conceptualizing practices to be more inclusive of race-based issues and trauma-informed care.
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Ross, K., Van Sluytman, L. Race-Based Trauma and Treatment Outcomes: An Examination of State Organizational Policies and Implications in Social Work Field Education. J. Hum. Rights Soc. Work 7, 449–453 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41134-021-00205-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41134-021-00205-w