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What do you say when a stranger in line at Universal Studios taps you on the shoulder and announces, "We all have a bet going — what are you?" Derrick Paladino, professor of counseling and department chair at Rollins College, has spent decades turning that question into "me-search."
He joins Travis Heath to talk about growing up biracial in America, finding (or not finding) yourself in your multicultural textbooks, and why multiracial identity remains "the most complex identity, but the shortest chapter in the book." The conversation then turns to crisis and suicide work: how Derrick learned the hard way not to stay too long in the well with a client, his "trickle-down reflection" method for asking about suicide in a way that feels human, and what counselors-in-training are facing on today's college campuses. An episode about stepping off the fence — and knowing when to go deep.
Further Learning Resources
- Crisis Counseling: 7 Steps to Effective Intervention
- Assessment and Intervention with Suicidal Clients with John Sommers-Flanagan
- Multicultural Competence in Counseling & Psychotherapy with Derald Wing Sue
- Inviting Racial Conversations into Therapy with Sam Steen and Joy Steen
- The System Wasn't Built for You: Elijah Murphy on Hope, Racism, and PhDing While Black
Derrick Paladino, PhD
Professor of Counseling, Department Chair, and Cornell Distinguished Faculty at Rollins College
Derrick’s areas of expertise include multiracial identity, college counseling and student development, and crisis assessment and intervention. He has written several peer reviewed articles and book chapters and is a frequent presenter at national conferences. He is the co-editor and co-author of the following books: College Counseling and Student Development: Theory, Practice, and Campus Collaboration which received the ACCA Outstanding Contribution of Knowledge Award 2020.