Have access already?

Get access to this chapter:

Or get access to the entire book:

Chapter 10: Emerging Perspectives for Effective Mental Health Practice in a Divided, Tumultuous Time

Additional resources for this chapter

instructor material

DOI:

10.1891/9780826164452.0010

Abstract

Being steeped in an environment where there is divisiveness and black/white thinking has a number of important implications. It has an impact on the thinking, emotions and behavior. It can increase the stress level, reduce the quality of life, can damage the quality of the interpersonal relationships, and negatively impact the ability to effectively help others. Challenging oneself to avoid reductionistic thinking, one taking the harder road in the short run, but the dividends it pays, both personally and professionally, is worth the price. When one work with the clients, using the Intersectionality/Resiliency Formulation can helps to view them in a way that challenges simplistic and reductionistic thinking, providing a format for us to view the clients from a perspective that helps to gain a more comprehensive understanding and ultimately becoming more effective in the practice.