Research Topic and Question
Clinical psychology is an important psychological field where people can get a portion of professional help and health care and solve their mental and behavioral problems. However, even though the chosen field of psychology deals with numerous human problems, there are many issues to be discussed to avoid misunderstandings, disappointments, legal problems, and personal dissatisfaction. Though many Americans believe that they are racially blind, some race-related concerns are observed in the field of clinical psychology. The main challenge is connected to deny evident racial problems and the desire to believe that the problem of racial inequality is in the past. Can racial bias define the quality of clinical help and influence personal relations between a helping expert and a patient in the field of clinical psychology? Students and people, who want to connect their future careers with clinical psychology, should try to answer this question before they make their final decisions.
The relevance of Research Question to Personal Interests
My desire to help people and show them the ways on how to solve their behavioral problems has a long history. Nowadays, people depend on many things: media information, political discussions, or even some personal interpretations of the neighbor’s phrase. Human behavior is a complicated system of thoughts and knowledge that is not always properly recognized. People need professional help, and I want to be a person, who can provide people with the required portion of help and understanding. Clinical psychology is not only a chance to deal with personal problems. It is a good opportunity to connect human behavioral problems and real treatment. Still, I believe that current racial problems should not prevent psychologists from offering appropriate services to all people regardless of their race.
Peer-Reviewed Articles
Constantine, M.G. (2007). Perceptions of racial microaggressions among black supervisees in cross-racial dyads. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 54(2), 142-153.
This article touches upon the relations between Black and White people in the field of clinical psychology, discusses the peculiarities of clinical supervision, and analyzes human behavior that can depend on racial prejudices (Constantine, 2007). The main strategy that was used to locate the article was connected to read its full text and get the explanation of each term. The author of the article reviewed more than twenty articles during the last two decades, added an interview protocol and the example of a checklist to demonstrate the methods used in research. Besides, further implications were given.
Iwamasa, G.Y., Sorocco, K.H., & Koonce, D.A. (2002). Ethnicity and clinical psychology: A content analysis of the literature. Clinical Psychology Review, 22, 931-944.
The authors of this article touched upon the tasks current clinical psychologists face. The evaluation of the demographics of the US population and the analysis of scholarly journals prove the worth of this article. The title (Ethnicity and clinical psychology) and keywords were the reasons for this article’s choice. The intention to explain why the Americans become more ethnically diverse and identify how this diversity influences clinical psychology is the core of the article (Iwamasa, Sorocco, & Koonce, 2002).
Sue, D.W., Capodilupo, C.M., Torino, G.C., Bucceri, J. M., Holder, A.M.B., Nadal, K.L., & Esquilin, M. (2007). Racial microaggressions in everyday life: Implications for clinical practice. American Psychologist, 62(4), 271-286.
Sue, Capodilupo, Torino, Bucceri, Holder, Nadal, and Esquilin (2007) underline the importance to evaluate the reasons for racial microaggressions because their perpetrators are not always aware of the conditions under which they become the participants of such communication and create problems in clinical psychology. The authors introduce racial microaggressions as one of the main barriers to clinical practice and offer the implications that can be used in the field and solve personal and professional problems. The use of many academic sources and the possibility to introduce the results in clear and informative tables are the criteria according to which the article has been chosen.
Insights and Conclusions of Research
The chosen articles and research help to realize that people are still prejudiced by racial problems and disparities. Clinical psychology should be free from such problems, and students have to learn how to deal with human inabilities to neglect the color of their skin when the question of human instability is raised. This research is an important part of my future career vision because it helps to understand that some improvements can be made.
References
Constantine, M.G. (2007). Perceptions of racial microaggressions among black supervisees in cross-racial dyads. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 54(2), 142-153.
Iwamasa, G.Y., Sorocco, K.H., & Koonce, D.A. (2002). Ethnicity and clinical psychology: A content analysis of the literature. Clinical Psychology Review, 22, 931-944.
Sue, D.W., Capodilupo, C.M., Torino, G.C., Bucceri, J. M., Holder, A.M.B., Nadal, K.L., & Esquilin, M. (2007). Racial microaggressions in everyday life: Implications for clinical practice. American Psychologist, 62(4), 271-286.