Creative Commons License
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Date of Graduation
5-12-2022
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Educational Specialist (EdS)
Department
Department of Graduate Psychology
Advisor(s)
Amanda Evans
A. Renee Staton
Joseph LeBlanc
Abstract
This integrated literature review explores the mental health field’s contribution towards the subjugation of Black people through the means of researching human existence that affirmed white supremacy and bolstered the dehumanization of Blackness. This paper also explores how this negligent behavior on the part of the mental health field trivialized the deep pain and suffering experienced by Black people and provided the means to further dehumanize Blackness. The author provides frameworks to better understand the existential trauma experienced by the Black collective due to racism being embedded in societal narratives and history with the help of the mental health field. The author also introduces Black existentialism as a theoretical avenue for the mental health field to begin undoing the pervasive white supremacist narratives it established while also liberating and centering Blackness within the therapeutic work.
Recommended Citation
Cooper, Monica M., "Beyond broaching: Existential meaning making of Blackness within therapeutic work" (2022). Educational Specialist, 2020-current. 36.
https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/edspec202029/36
