African American female therapists essay 139. Follow the instruction to write 2pages summary of the articleAll the work must be originalTurn it on report i
African American female therapists essay 139. Follow the instruction to write 2pages summary of the articleAll the work must be originalTurn it on report is required Please conclude the summery of this article (the main ideas), and then write some reflection
about this article, the things you learned or agree with and the things you disagree. Two
pages only. No apa required. Please summarize the main ideas from the article first, and with
some details in the main ideas.
Psychotherapy Theory, Research, Practice, Training
2010, Vol. 47, No. 2, 186 197
© 2010 American Psychological Association
0033-3204/10/$12.00
DOI: 10.1037/a0019759
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
DIVERSITY WITHIN AFRICAN AMERICAN, FEMALE
THERAPISTS: VARIABILITY IN CLIENTS EXPECTATIONS
AND ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT THE THERAPIST
JENNIFER F. KELLY
BEVERLY GREENE
Independent Practice, Atlanta, GA
St. Johns University, and Independent
Practice, Brooklyn, NY
Despite the presence of some literature
that has addressed the characteristics
of the African American female therapist, most psychotherapy training proceeds with the assumption that therapists are members of dominant groups,
and most of the psychological and psychotherapy literature has been written
by therapists and psychologists who
come from dominant cultural perspectives. Not as much has been written
about psychological paradigms or the
process of psychotherapy from the perspective of the therapist who is not a
dominant group member. This article
explores both the common and divergent experiences that we, the authors,
share as African American female therapists and the different reactions we
frequently elicit in clients. We also explore how individual differences in our
physical appearances, personal backgrounds, and different characteristics of
our respective practices elicit distinct
responses from clients that we believe
are based on differences between us,
despite the fact that we are both African American women. We believe that
many of the stereotypes that affect per-
ceptions of African American female
clients also exist for African American
female therapists. We will address how
the intersection of gender, race, and
sexual orientation of the client highlights the complexity of culturally competent practice.
Jennifer F. Kelly Independent Practice, Atlanta, GA; and
Beverly Greene, Department of Psychology, St. Johns University, and Independent Practice, Brooklyn, NY.
Correspondence regarding this article should be addressed
to Jennifer F. Kelly, PhD, ABPP, Atlanta Center for Integrated Health, 2325 Log Cabin Drive, Suite 105, Atlanta, GA
30080. E-mail: jfkphd@aol.com
186
Keywords: African American therapists,
therapists characteristics, multicultural
competence, psychotherapy
Characteristics of the African American female client have been a focus of attention in the
psychological and psychotherapy literature (Jackson & Greene, 2000; Taylor, 1999; Walker, 1990;
Rosenthal, Wong, Blalock, & Delambo, 2004;
Wyche & Crosby, 1996; Shorter-Gooden, 2009).
A significant amount of the literature has addressed the stereotypes of the African American
female client, based on cultural stereotypes of
African American women generally. A particular
focus of attention has been how those perceptions
or stereotypes, if held by the therapist, usually
non-African American, can affect the therapeutic
relationship and subsequent treatment outcome
when working with African American clients
(Wyche & Crosby, 1996; Wyche, 1993; Mayo,
2004).
The literature has also addressed the characteristics of therapists of color and the dynamics they
bring to the therapeutic relationship. Kelly and
Boyd-Franklin (2005) addressed how racial, cultural, and familial factors can become manifested
in African American clients, therapists and supervisors and how the use of the factors can result in
a parallel process of empowerment across the
relationships. Jernigan, Green, Helms, PerezGualdron, and Henze (2010) conducted a quali-
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
Special Section: Diversity in African American, Female Therapists
tative study that analyzed responses provided by
supervisees of color, and noted that it was the
supervisors and supervisees psychological experiences of race more than race itself that was
essential for managing the racial dynamics of
supervisory dyads involving two people of color.
Cook and Hargrove (1997) wrote about their
work as African American female supervisor and
supervisee. They noted that environmental circumstances of Blacks within a predominantly
White setting and skin color issues among Black
women influenced racial identity dynamics.
Despite the presence of literature that has addressed the characteristics of the African American female therapist, most psychotherapy training proceeds with the assumption that therapists
are members of dominant groups and most of the
psychological and psychotherapy literature has
been written by therapists and psychologists who
come from dominant cultural perspectives. Not as
much has been written about psychological paradigms or the process of psychotherapy from the
perspective of the therapist who is not a dominant
group member. There is also relatively little in
the multicultural literature on marginalized
groups that explores the differences in experience
and perspective between and among members of
the same group. Iwasmsa (1996) noted that a
review of the literature on the experiences of
ethnic minority therapists revealed they felt there
was inadequate training in multicultural issues.
The therapists also felt that their ethnicity affected their work with clients in both positive and
negative ways, and that their White colleagues
viewed them as being less competent than White
therapists, or as only able to work competently
with ethnic minority clients.
Presumptions of homogeneity among therapists of color frequently prevail. These presumptions are questionable. It was noted by Taylor
(1999) that the cultural influences of both the
therapist and the clients affect the therapeutic
environment and the client benefit from therapy.
Therefore, therapists need to be aware of their
unique experiences and attitudes and how these
may affect the therapeutic relationship.
This article explores both the common and
divergent experiences that we, the authors, share
as African American female therapists and the
different reactions we frequently elicit in clients.
We also explore how individual differences in
our physical appearances, personal backgrounds,
and different characteristics of our respective
practices elicit distinct responses from clients that
we believe are based on differences between us,
despite the fact that we are both African American females. It is reasonable to assume that many
of the stereotypes that affect perceptions of
African American female clients also exist for
African American female therapists. The intersection of gender, race, and sexual orientation of
the client in this scenario highlights the complexity of culturally competent practice.
Taylor (1999) has noted that differences in
skin color, hair, and body size that characterize
African American female clients, when compared
to the dominant cultural norms for physical appearance can affect the therapists expectations
and clients behavior. Similarly, Greene, White,
and Whitten (2000) and Neal and Wilson (1989)
noted the role skin color, facial features, and hair
have played in the lives of African American
females as it relates to feelings of attractiveness,
positive self-esteem, and identity in a dominant
White society. Okazawa-Rey, Robinson, and
Ward (1987) wrote about issues related to skin
color in African American women and explored
them from a literary perspective. They documented the challenges for African American
women whose skin color varied. Their work and
that of Greene et al. (2000) asserted that within
African American women stereotypical attributions and prejudgments based on skin color led to
intragroup rivalries. They also noted that color
conscious attitudes are inculcated in children in
their homes among family members who have
varying attitudes and feelings about skin color,
based on their own color and the ways they were
regarded based on their skin color, and reinforced
in the broader society. If these factors have an
impact on the client seeking therapy it is highly
likely that these same characteristics in the African American female therapist can affect the way
she is perceived in therapy by the client and the
way she may perceive certain clients.
Stereotypes of the African American Woman
and Impact on Therapy
Given the history of racial and gender discrimination in the history of the United States, and the
gendered racial stereotypes created to justify that
discrimination, the very person of an African
American woman elicits certain expectations
from people, including clients. Those expectations are often based on cultural stereotypes
187
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This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
Kelly and Greene
rather than the reality of African American
women as individuals in a heterogeneous group.
Numerous authors have written that these stereotypes can influence the way that African American women are perceived in social situations
(Givens & Monahan, 2005; West, 2008; Jackson
& Greene, 2000). We assert, based on our experience as therapists, that the cultural stereotypes
applied to African American women in general is
a likely occurrence in psychotherapy with respect
to the perception of the African American female
therapist by her colleagues as well as her clients.
West (2008) has noted that stereotypic depictions of African American females can be loosely
grouped into that of the Mammy, Jezebel, or
Sapphire. The behavior and dispositions embodied in these stereotypes can affect the perception
of the African American female therapist, the
clients expectations of the therapist and the therapeutic relationship with an African American
female therapist.
Characteristics of the Mammy stereotype include being maternal, nurturing, family-oriented,
and a church lady who is completely selfsacrificing where her own needs (or the needs of
her own family) are concerned. The Mammy
stereotype was created in slavery to bolster the
perception of slavery as an institution that not
only benefited the purported natural disposition
of African descendents, but was one which they
embraced themselves. The Mammy was a figure
who was totally devoted to the slave master and
his familys care to the neglect of her own and her
familys needs, and she delighted in her subservient place in the social hierarchy (West, 2008).
Thompson (2000) contends that derivatives of
that behavior may be found in contemporary
African American women in what she defines as
moral masochism. Moral masochism refers to
the internalization of the mammy stereotype but
extends beyond the master and his family to
everyone. According to Thompson, when African
American women internalize this stereotype, they
believe they must be self-sacrificing to the point
of complete personal neglect and depletion. Everyone elses needs are deemed more important
than their own.
Abdullah (1998) addressed mammy-ism and
asserted that African American women historically assumed that role and acquiesced to socially
determined inferior status. As a result, African
social reality and survival are displaced with European social reality and survival thrust. We
188
know however that African Americans often pretended to accept their subservient status while
passively engaging in acts of resistance. Direct
confrontation with their masters and the system
of slavery and the centuries of discrimination that
followed was not a battle they could win. Hence
they pretended to accept characterizations of
themselves that they did not believe were necessarily true. If however, the stereotype of the
Mammy is held for the African American female
client, it would stand to reason that the same
stereotype could be held for the African American female therapist. This stereotype, if held by
the client, can shape unrealistic expectations of
the therapist and have an impact on treatment.
If the client holds this stereotype of African
American women, they may expect the therapist
to be the nurturing, self-sacrificing caretaker. If
the therapist perceives that the client harbors this
expectation, it will be important to explore it.
Should the therapist consciously or unconsciously adopt that role it may reinforce an inappropriate level of dependency on the therapist,
rather than facilitate the clients capacity to develop and rely on their own resources in making
change, as well as understanding the clients defensive needs for such dependency. The therapist
will need to establish boundaries and explore the
nature of unreasonable requests from the client
(West, 2008).
West (2008) addressed the Jezebel stereotype. Characteristics of the Jezebel stereotype
are that of an overly sexualized, sexually promiscuous female who is completely lacking in virtue
and who will use her sexuality to manipulate and
deceive. This stereotype of African American
women was created to rationalize their sexual
exploitation in ways that made them responsible
for their own victimization. Heterosexual male
clients, both White and African American, may
be predisposed as a function of their socialization
to believe this stereotype accurately represents
African American women and may predispose
them to behave seductively toward the therapist.
While such behavior in male client-female therapist dyads is not uncommon, it may be intensified when the therapist is an African American
female.
The African American female therapist must
be sensitive to this stereotype and address this
potential boundary violation. For some male clients, seductive behavior toward females may be
the only way that they feel in control of the
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Special Section: Diversity in African American, Female Therapists
situation. Feelings of vulnerability or dependency
in such clients toward the female therapist may
predispose this kind of behavior as a defense
against those feelings and perhaps their own fears
of retribution. Such feelings and fears may be
heightened with the African American female
therapist for other reasons as well. For other male
clients who have internalized these stereotypes,
they may idealize White women and devalue
African American women, viewing the African
American female therapist as less worthy of respect or deference generally bestowed on women.
In these instances the seductive behavior may be
used to express the clients hostility or contempt
toward the therapist.
The stereotype of the Sapphire is based upon a
character in a controversial 1950s TV program
Amos & Andy. At that time it was one of perhaps
only two televised programs that featured any African American characters or actors. An all African
American cast enacted roles that today are considered to be demeaning racial stereotypes (West,
2008). Following protests from civil rights organizations it was taken off the air (Jewell, 1993). The
character of Sapphire was the angry, hostile, aggressive, nagging wife of a pretentious, dishonest, and
lazy African American man, Kingfish. Sapphire,
Kingfish, and Sapphires mother, referred to as
Mama shared a modest apartment. A central feature of their relationship was Kingfishs complete
inept pursuit of flawed schemes to get rich, directed
at the exploitation of his buffoonish friend Andy,
and his abject failure at those schemes, inability to
provide for his family, and refusal to take ordinary
work. Sapphire (and Mama) were shrewish in their
response to him, which consisted of complete contempt and disregard. Both women were presented
as the successful breadwinners and as castrating,
angry women, when the cultural norm for women
was to be just the opposite (McLeod, 2005).
Hence, African American women who are
deemed angry are seen as simply mean and ill
tempered, evoke no sympathy, and are seen as
deserving of ill treatment. When African American womens grievances become the focus of
attention and their justifiable anger is trivialized
in this manner, their pain and grief are ignored.
Sapphire symbolizes Black women who are justifiably angry, but when they are viewed as characterologically angry, their grievances can be
trivialized and they and not their ill treatment are
viewed as the problem. It is not unlike attempts
by mainstream media and mainstream psychol-
ogy to cast all womens righteous anger at the ill
treatment that forms the basis of sexism as a
characterological flaw making their grievances
unworthy of attention much less of any empathy.
It has been our experience that African American
women are often perceived as angry when their
facial expressions and mood are ambiguous. When
they are angry, their anger is presumed to be disproportionate to the event, out of control, and characterological as opposed to situational. It is worth
considering that some clients may view African
American women, and therefore their therapist, as
having the potential to be irrationally angry, that
anger and violent responses to anger are synonymous and they may avoid potentially confrontational situations for fear that the therapist may become angry. Some clients may tend to avoid feeling
or expressing anger toward the African American
female therapist generally for fear of alienating by
angering them. When the therapist believes this
may be occurring in therapy it needs to be carefully
addressed and appropriately explored.
Jackson (2000) has also discussed what she
describes as the girlfriend transference that can
take place between the African American female
therapist and the African American female client.
The therapist, a trusted confidant, is viewed as if
she were a close female friend like the close
personal sister-friend that many African American women do have. Sometimes this can help the
client feel a sense of comfort in therapy, thus
allowing a therapeutic alliance to develop. However, the African American female therapist
needs to be aware of this relationship, as the
professional focus of the relationship can be minimized and the client may expect inappropriate
mutual sharing and disclosure to take place. As
this occurs in the therapeutic relationship, this
also requires therapeutic exploration.
All of these stereotypic depictions of African
American women, which are not exhaustive, can
affect the way the therapist is perceived by the
client, pose a special challenge to the development of the therapeutic relationship and subsequently can affect treatment.
Heterogeneity Within Homogeneity of the
African American Therapist
This article draws on the experiences of the
authors, who are African American women, born
and raised in the United States, who are experienced clinicians, but whose backgrounds and
189
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This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
Kelly and Greene
physical appearance are very different. While
each was born and raised in the United States
within a decade of one another, they were ra…
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