Basic multicultural training and awareness may not sufficiently prepare clinicians to work with African American clients. By closely looking at the complex issues of anger and African American identity, you will bring depth to your clinical practice. Clinicians who have not personally experienced or fully acknowledged the sting of microaggressions or the pain of feeling invisible because of the color of their skin may miss opportunities to ask critical questions, instead avoiding uncomfortable conversations with Black clients around topics such as anger and identity. Furthermore, focusing on presenting problems rather than exploring their possible roots in racism can be detrimental to the therapeutic relationship.

Watching these masterful, race-informed sessions with two African American men and the detailed analysis that follows will help you to sit with your own clients’ pain, creating a safe therapeutic space for growth and healing. Darrick Tovar-Murray, PhD, demonstrates how to build a strong working alliance and promote change in his clinical work with Christopher, a young man whose anger has become disruptive, and Chad, whose Jehovah’s Witness upbringing and homosexuality further complicate his identity as a Black man. See how exploring the stories your African American clients were born into will help them strengthen their sense of identity and develop self-empowering counter-narratives to racism. And learn to recognize your own relationship with racism and stereotypes like that of the “angry Black man,” work that will help you to provide skillful and supportive race-sensitive therapy.

This video will give you essential tools for breaking down the complex dynamics of race, anger, and identity and deepen your clinical awareness of the needs of your African American clients so that you can build a foundation for trust, insight, and healing.