Treating African American women trauma survivors: clinicians’ perspectives on incorporating religion and spirituality
Creators: name: Brinson, Sydney Basie
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2022

description: African American women are a diverse group who contribute to the economic, social, and cultural fabric of the United States. African American women, especially those who live in urban environments, experience high rates of trauma exposure. Nevertheless, African American women are less likely to seek and receive mental health services in comparison to their White counterparts. There are numerous factors that may contribute to the lack of adequate mental health services for this population, especially for the treatment of trauma-related symptoms. For most African American women, spirituality and religion are embedded and interwoven in their daily lives and are a major component of their meaning making systems. Despite being one of the most religious and spiritual groups in the United States, religion and spirituality are often neglected aspects of their mental health treatment. To better understand how to treat this underserved population, this study aimed to gain insight into Black clinicians’ attitudes, behaviors, and experiences regarding the incorporation of religion and spirituality into trauma treatment with African American women. Clinicians were interviewed to gain an understanding of the barriers that exist in adapting various treatments to incorporate religion and spirituality. Eleven participants were asked various questions about their personal and professional backgrounds, attitudes, and behaviors related to incorporating religion and spirituality in treatment. The data were analyzed for themes using grounded theory. The results of the study suggest that Black clinicians are open to discussing religious and spiritual matters in therapy. Although finding self-explorative practices within formal training beneficial, Black clinicians expressed a general lack of academic training in religion and spirituality. Black clinicians identified numerous means outside their formal training that provided training and support in providing trauma treatment to African American women. Black clinicians shared that their personal growth positively impacted their self-efficacy in incorporating religion and spirituality into clinical practice. They strongly identified with broaching the topic of religion and spirituality with their clients and obtaining clients’ consent before integrating religion and spirituality into trauma treatment. Black clinicians emphasized the importance of building trust in trauma therapy and recognized a variety of experiences, such as poverty and domestic violence, as traumatic for their African American women clients. The results indicated that Black clinicians found clients’ religious and spiritual backgrounds to be a valuable meaning-making tool in trauma treatment. Black clinicians identified economics and stereotypes as impediments to African American women engaging in trauma treatment. The implications for this study are vast, as researchers, practitioners, and training sites can utilize the findings to enhance the quality of culturally responsive treatment for African American women.