Irreducibility of Black Male Clients: Considerations for Culturally Competent Counseling

Abstract

An exploration of Black men as clients is presented. The concept of irreducibility through the humanistic lens is shared as a means of providing counselors the wherewithal to reframe the internal paradigm of clinical work with Black men. Recommendations for counselorexploration and clinical practice are offered.

Black American Men's Treatment Experiences in Mental Health Court: A Phenomenological Analysis

“…Our findings are congruent with culturally competent, strengths‐based, humanistic considerations outlined by Hannon and Vereen () for counseling Black American males. They encouraged counselors to more authentically connect with Black American male clients by acknowledging their multiple intersecting identities, holism, and autonomy within a contextual oppressive framework.…”

“…They encouraged counselors to more authentically connect with Black American male clients by acknowledging their multiple intersecting identities, holism, and autonomy within a contextual oppressive framework. In this way, counselors may support their clients in confronting socially constructed barriers while in a therapeutic environment (Hannon & Vereen, ). In line with the Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies (Ratts, Singh, Nassar‐McMillan, Butler, & McCullough, ), counselors' understanding of the client's worldview as informed by his or her intersectional identity was especially pertinent to the participants in our study because they often reported experiences of oppression related to their societal positioning going unaddressed in treatment.…”

“…Counselors should create a safe therapeutic relationship and attend to client emotions regarding race‐related concerns such as those of powerlessness, shame, and stigmatization reported by the participants in our study (Richardson & Helms, ). Hannon and Vereen () wrote that counselors should also actively seek awareness, recognition, and avoidance of microaggressions related to perceived Black American male pathology. By constructively contextualizing historically hostile client behaviors (experiences of societal oppression projected by Black American clients onto non–Black American counselors; Vontress & Epp, , p. 170), counselors have an opportunity to empathize and facilitate exploration of experiences of cultural mistrust such as those described by our participants (Day‐Vines et al, ; Hannon & Vereen, ).…”

Influence of autism on fathering style among Black American fathers: a narrative inquiry

“…Scant research is available about how men make meaning of their multiple identities (e.g. man, father, son, lover, partner; Englar‐Carlson and Kiselica, ) and the associated contexts where those identities intersect when fathering children with developmental differences, such as autism (Hannon, ; Hannon and Vereen, ).…”

“…What follows are the results from a narrative inquiry designed to retell stories about how Black fathers describe the influence of their children's autism diagnoses on their fathering style. irreducibility (fathers' range of roles and identities being affirmed and not reduced; (Hannon and Vereen 2016)). Included in understanding the three levels of meaning is an acknowledgment of how systemic forces such as racism influence the fathering practices among Black men (McAdoo, 1993).…”