Racial Trauma and Minority Stress: The Culturally Competent Clinician's Guide to Assessment and Treatment

CPD

Handouts

Faculty

Lillian Gibson, PhD Related seminars and products

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Lillian Gibson, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist with over a decade of experience working with clients facing trauma, insomnia, nightmares, race-based traumas, minority stress, anxiety, depression, and chronic medical conditions. In addition to her clinical duties, she serves as a consultant to other licensed clinicians, and supervises psychology and medical residents on “gold star” evidenced-based psychotherapy treatments. Dr. Gibson is a highly recommended speaker, consultant, and clinician who is frequently engaged by non-profit agencies, community-based programs, and mental health agencies to inform and train their staff. Experienced in a variety of settings including inpatient mental health centers, outpatient behavioral care services, and primary care settings. Dr. Gibson’s professional footprints include places such as Johns Hopkins Medicine and the Quality Education for Minorities Network. Dr. Gibson has also conducted international research in Johannesburg, South Africa.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Lillian Gibson maintains a private practice and receives compensation as a consultant and virtual speaker. She receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Lillian Gibson has no relevant non-financial relationships.

 

Objectives

1. Investigate core elements of cultural competency for mental health professionals.
2. Formulate a detailed conceptualization of a case with race-based stressors.
3. Analyze trauma diagnostic criteria and the impact of race-based stressors.
4. Determine how vicarious trauma impacts clients’ emotional functioning.
5. Employ the biopsychosocial model framework to guide assessment steps and treatment of trauma stemming from racism and discrimination.
6. Analyze factors that influence generational trauma and exacerbate racial trauma symptomology.

Outline

Cultural Competency Markers for Mental Health Professionals

• Core elements of cultural competency within mental health
• Bidirectional relationship between cultural humility and cultural competency
• Cultural attunement variables
• Honouring of worldviews, identity, language, customs

Case Conceptualization Strategies When Race-Based Stressors are Present

• Essential conceptualization components to assess cases
• Treatment planning and case conceptualization factors
• Errors often seen within poor case formulations
• Enhancement of case conceptualization processes when cultural competency is present

Diagnostic Criteria for PTSD per the DSM-5™

• Considerations to diagnose trauma secondary to a race-based stressor(s)
• Exploration of direct trauma in relation to a PTSD diagnosis
• Generational trauma factors linked to race-based stressor(s)
• Exploration of vicarious trauma in relation to a PTSD diagnosis
• Minority stress features that impact quality of life factors

Racial Trauma Symptomology: Identifying with Biopsychosocial Framework References

• The mind and body trauma connection
• Diathesis-Stress Model in relation to trauma
• Recognizing physiological signs of trauma
• Long-term impacts of chronic stress stored in the body
• Outline of useful trauma measures that may be utilized
• Listing of symptom monitoring measures
• Client and therapist match measures

Racial Trauma Treatment: Effective Interventions and Multimodal Framework

• Applicable options for treatment
• Scripts to discuss racial trauma, minority stress and explore client/therapist dynamics
• Culturally sensitive treatment implications
• Multimodal framework for treatment:
• Distressed sleep interventions: CBT for insomnia and imagery rehearsal for nightmares
• Chronic stress: CBT and mindfulness approaches
• Value-based living: usefulness of ACT tenants
• Trauma-focused treatment using prolonged exposure
• Assertive communication strategies from interpersonal psychotherapy
• Safeguards to help the efficacy of racial trauma treatment(s)
• Limitations of racial trauma treatments
• Risks associated with administering evidence-based psychotherapies for racial trauma

Target Audience

• Social Workers
• Counselors
• Psychologists
• Marriage & Family Therapists
• Addiction Counselors
• Psychiatrists
• Other Mental Health Professionals