Overcoming Unintentional Racism in Counseling and Therapy: A Practitioner?s Guide to Intentional Intervention

Any counselor or therapist, regardless of race, background, or motive, can engage in unintentional acts of racism. In so doing, they may inadvertently sabotage their own efforts and perpetuate the very problems they seek to overcome. Overcoming Unintentional Racism in Counseling and Therapy, Second Edition examines the dynamics and effects of racism in counseling with an emphasis on the insidiousness of unintentional racism.

Workable solutions and practical alternatives are proposed with the goal of eliminating unintentional racism. Numerous supporting clinical examples are included in order to help counselors gain new insights into their operational practices and to modify any behaviors that may interfere with a helpful intervention. The Second Edition also provides a new section on the policies and practices of agencies and other institutions in the mental health system unintentionally resulting in service disparities. Macro-system and micro-system interventions are proposed to overcome these disparities. 

Key Features:

• The only book that addresses unintentional racism in counseling and therapy.
• Offers a superb balance of theory and practice.
• Provides problem identification and workable solutions to individual and institutional racism.

Overcoming Unintentional Racism in Counseling and Therapy is ideally suited as a supplemental text for theoretical courses in counseling, counseling techniques, practicum, multicultural counseling, and professional seminars.

"Taking an action-oriented approach, [Ridley] challenges counselors ′to examine the relationship between their behavior toward minority groups and the consequences of that behavior′... Many of his case study vignettes are helpful." -- Patricia M. Berliner, PsycCRITIQUES Published On: 2005-07-20

"This book is both powerful and sobering.  It would serve as an excellent textbook for multicultural counseling classes.  It could also be a resource for counselors who are critically examining their therapeutic work with minority clients or for institutions evaluating the services provided to these clients.  Numerous examples throughout the book illustrate Ridley′s points and help the text to come alive.  This book and its message will be needed as long as minority clients have negative experiences in counseling due to counselors′ unintentional racism." -- Kimberly Wagner, Counseling Today Published On: 2005-09-30