Therapy for Black and Latino People in America

5/29/2022

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Therapy for You
May 2022

Trauma in minority communities. What do the stats say?

INSIDE
Article written by Professional Counselor
Jere’My J. Rankins, MA
New finds this week
Trauma in the minority community
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The observer
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Here are the Facts…
Texas Department of Family and Protective Services has a wonderful training that offers insight into the effects of Trauma amongst lower-income and minority communities.
For contextual reasons we will need to define what Disproportionality means: A particular race or cultural group is over-represented in a program or system.
For Example, in Texas:

A higher percentage of African Americana children are removed from their homes compared to children of other races and ethnic groups.
A lower percentage is successfully reunified with their families.
A higher percentage aged out of foster care without an adoptive family or other permanent placement.
African Americans and Latinos are less likely to be adopted within 12 months of termination of parental rights.

Disparity refers to differences in outcomes for some groups of people because of unequal treatment or services. Meeting the needs of children of color requires understanding the disparities in:

Knowledge about services
Access to services
Quality and appropriate available services

African Americans in the United States of America suffer from the most childhood trauma and have been since their captivity. From generation to generation, African Americans have suffered from trauma in the oppressive economies that they were born in. Closely behind African American children who suffer from childhood trauma is the Latino community. These two ethnic groups suffer the most in the United States from oppression and childhood struggles that lead to lifelong stressors.
Here is what you do about it
Therapy is an approach people take to work through issues in a systematic way. Admitting to having a possible problem is only the beginning to recovery. When we admit to having mental health challenges we can then start focusing on the treatment.
Oftentimes therapy clients will come into my office not realizing they have an issue or a specific problem until it is processed through exploring history and experiences. There is learning in taking a step back and observing behavioral patterns in our routines. Our behaviors will often reflect how we see and navigate the environment we live in. A clinician who is well versed in the areas of human development and behavior can assess these behavioral patterns and diagnose an issue with precision.
Therapy is an alternative to learning skills and strategies for healing. A therapist can also be your punching bag, figuratively speaking. Many people need someone to express thoughts and feelings without judgment and we are those professionals who are trained and qualified to give you non-judgmental feedback if you are willing to receive it with love. An open heart makes for great progress in therapy.
Self-Care and Love
The simplest form of healing is, to begin with loving yourself. Most people think that their children or family come first. How many times have you seen that on a social media post or headline? This lives on many dating profiles, “My kids come first.” That is the biggest red flag. If you are pouring into other people and loving others before yourself then it is only a matter of time before the strain of life stressors becomes too much. You begin lashing out at those you love the most. You may end up becoming easily irritable and constantly in a down mood. Your ill mood may spill over into your physical health and you may have gastrointestinal complications. You may suffer from migraine headaches and other health-related illnesses that are directly associated with your mental challenges.
Do us all a favor and start loving yourself more often. We need you to be well enough to take care of those who need you the most.

Here are some strategies and recommendations for helping you improve your mood:

Exercise
Pray
Plan to do something risky or out of character as long as it is safe (i.e., parachuting, mountain climbing, snorkeling, swimming with dolphins or sharks)
Hygiene-Get nails done, hair cut, facials, massage, etc.
Go out with friends and or family
Cut toxic relationships out of your life
Do whatever brings you peace and does not cause harm to you or anybody else.

We can go to therapy, read books, and take medications to help ourselves feel better. But at the end of the day for us to have a true transformation in our lives it must happen with action. What action are you willing to take to gain the control and power over your life that you desire?

Turn your Minor setback into a Major comeback.
by Jere’My J. Rankins, MA LPC

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