Date of Conferral

2020

Degree

Doctor of Social Work (DSW)

School

Social Work

Advisor

Renata Hedrington-Jones

Abstract

There has been a dramatic increase of race-based encounters that have had an extensive health impact on African Americans. Social workers and other mental health professionals play a crucial role in working with African American adults who experience race-based traumatic stress. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify strategies to address race-based traumatic stress from a mental health perspective. Racial encounter coping appraisal and socialization theory (RECAST) guided this study where eight social workers from the local community mental health center in rural Mississippi completed an open-ended questionnaire to identify and determine culturally competent treatment strategies for African American adults. Participants included social workers who work with African American adults who work in rural Mississippi constituted the study sample. The participants included professional, licensed social workers who have been in practice for at least 3 years with the job titles of licensed social workers, licensed bachelor social workers, licensed master social workers, and clinical social workers. Discourse analysis was used to explore and organize the data. The study revealed four themes under the following headings: (a) racial discrimination, (b) lack of resources due to marginalization, (c) school to prison pipeline, and (d) microagressions. The findings include actions and perceptions to share information, promote change, raise awareness, and improve clinical practice. Possible implications for social change are reducing service gaps that will result in more support options for those dealing with race-based traumatic stress.

Download

Share

 
COinS