The Psychosocial Impacts of Racism on the Development of Black Brazilian Adolescents: Dialogues Based on Vigotski's Historical-Cultural Clinical Psychology

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study is to analyze the psychosocial implications of racism in the development of black Brazilian adolescents, with the aim of contributing to the construction of theoretical and practical foundations for the work of the cultural-historical clinical psychologist. Theoretical Framework: This study is based on the Historical-Cultural Psychology of L. S. Vigostki, a Soviet psychologist, and more specifically on the problematizations of Historical-Cultural Clinical Psychology, as well as on discussions and research into Ethnic-Racial Studies. Method: This is an exploratory study and, more specifically, it was constructed using a Narrative Literature Review, using theoretical and bibliographical references and the research experience in cultural-historical clinical psychology of the Laboratory for the Study of Subjectivity and Mental Health (LADES-UECE) to reflect on the bases for the work of the cultural-historical clinical psychologist with black adolescents. Results and Discussion: The results show that the experience of racism has profound psychosocial impacts on the psychic dynamics of black adolescents, with three main consequences for the formation of their personality: 1) dysfunctionalization of the cognition-affect unit; 2) disarticulation in the psychological function of concept formation; and, finally, 3) disorganization in the psychic activity of black adolescents. In addition, the results point to the weakness in the training of the cultural-historical clinical psychologist in terms of understanding what racism is, what its impacts are on the psychic development of the black individual, as well as the ability to manage these impacts. Research Implications: The practical and theoretical implications of this research are that it provides fundamental directions for the work of the cultural-historical clinical psychologist, both on a theoretical level - addressing the construction of clinical reasoning in a psychological approach without much systematization in Brazil - and on a practical level - signaling intervention and management strategies in the face of psychological problems faced by black people in Brazil, especially black adolescents. Originality/Value: In an original and unprecedented way, this study contributes to the literature in the field of historical-cultural clinical psychology, which is at the beginning of its construction in Brazil. Furthermore, from an ethical-political point of view, the study calls for cultural-historical clinical psychologists to carry out clinical practice in accordance with the philosophical-epistemological foundations of Vygotsky's psychology.