The Cost of Racism for People of Color: Contextualizing Experiences of Discrimination

In this book, leading scholars examine the felt experience of being the target of racism, with a focus on mental and physical health, as the result of particular racist encounters as well as across the lifespan.

Authors examine the subtle but persistent links between everyday microaggressions and historical racial trauma, and offer practical tools to assess and measure perceived racial discrimination. They describe compelling new interventions for individuals and communities, and offer social policy prescriptions to promote healing and help dismantle institutional discrimination.

With its skillful synthesis of voices and approaches, this work should appeal to a broad range of scholars and practitioners in clinical psychology, as well as ethnic studies, sociology, and public and allied health.

Alvin N. Alvarez, PhD, is dean of the College of Health and Social Sciences and professor of counseling at San Francisco State University. He completed his undergraduate at the University of California–Irvine in biological sciences and psychology and received his doctorate in counseling psychology from the University of Maryland. His scholarship focuses on Asian Americans, racial identity, and the psychological impact of racism. Dr. Alvarez is the coauthor, with Nita Tewari, of Asian American Psychology: Current Perspectives.
 
His scholarship has been supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, and he has been awarded the Janet E. Helms Award for Mentoring and Scholarship, the Asian Pacific American Network Research Award from the American College Personnel Association, the Best Paper for 2011 from the Asian American Journal of Psychology and the APA Tanaka Memorial Dissertation Award. He has also been awarded the Lifetime Achievement in Mentoring Award from the Society of Counseling Psychology. He is a former president of the Asian American Psychological Association, from which he received the Early Career Award for Distinguished Contributions and the Distinguished Contributions Award. His proudest achievements are his two daughters — Sabrina (7) and Sophie (4) — who are convinced they are smart and funny girls with even more important things to accomplish!
 
Christopher T. H. Liang, PhD, is an associate professor of counseling psychology at Lehigh University. He is a former president of APA Division 51 (Society for the Psychological Study of Men and Masculinity). His research interests center on how perceived racism and masculinity ideologies are associated with the academic, psychological, and physiological health, and health-related behaviors of ethnic minority boys and men. Dr. Liang also examines the role of coping, psychological rumination, and just-world beliefs in the associations between perceived racism and health outcomes for people of color. His work has been published in a number of peer-reviewed journals.
 
The purpose of his research lines is to determine effective individual-level, systems-level, and policy-oriented interventions. For instance, Dr. Liang has worked with school districts, universities, departments of health and human services, as well as not-for-profit community organizations, to strengthen their capacity to serve diverse children, youth, and families. Dr. Liang currently serves on the editorial boards of The Counseling Psychologist and the Psychology of Men and Masculinity.
 
Helen A. Neville, PhD, is a professor of educational psychology and African American Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. She is a past associate editor of The Counseling Psychologist and the Journal of Black Psychology. Her research on race, racism, and color-blind racial ideology has appeared in a wide range of peer-reviewed journals.
 
Dr. Neville has been recognized for her research and mentoring efforts, including receiving the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students Kenneth and Mamie Clark Award, the APA Division 45 (Society for the Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity and Race) Charles and Shirley Thomas Award for mentoring/contributions to African American students/community, and the APA Minority Fellowship Program Dalmas Taylor Award for Research. She was honored with the Association of Black Psychologists' Distinguished Psychologist of the Year award and the Winter Roundtable Janet E. Helms Mentoring Award.