No abstract

Systemic racism exacerbates the adverse impacts of social determinants of health, causing health disparities for African Americans. The COVID-19 pandemic's effect on communities of color has provided more attention and respect to African Americans' need for mental health care. This conceptual article explores COVID-19 and systemic racism disproportionately affecting African Americans' mental health and psychological well-being. The article also provides recommendations for counselor educators and mental health professionals to combat the problem.

No abstract

African American males are less likely to engage in mental health services. Racial discrimination, cultural mistrust, mental health disparities, and racial identity roles are significant factors impeding African American men from pursuing or continuing counseling. Unfortunately, counselors subliminally acknowledge the stereotypical labels ascribed to African American males lead to a poor or non-existing rapport, and tend to create solutions for the clients, disregarding their intrinsic motivation and autonomy. This conceptual article discussed racial discrimination, microaggression, and community ties as the barriers to counseling engagement among African American males. The article also highlighted the history of counseling African American males and the present urgency for a culturally sensitive model using the concepts of Motivational Interviewing for encouraging counseling engagement and autonomous resolution of ambivalence.

No abstract