A Conversation About Black Mental Health and How CBT Can Be a Powerful Tool for Healing

primipil/AdobeStock THE BECK INSTITUTE CLINICAL CONVERSATIONS When my father, Aaron T. Beck, MD, developed cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) in the 1960s and 1970s, most research in the social sciences was being conducted on college students—who were overwhelmingly male, middle- to upper-class, and of European descent. Since then, it has been rightly observed that much additional work was needed to adapt CBT not only for a range of psychiatric disorders and psychological problems, but for a range of populations including individuals from diverse cultures, backgrounds, and racial identities. Over the last 6 decades, much work has been done to make CBT more widely applicable—and Janeé M. Steele, PhD, has contributed significantly to the literature with her book Racism and African American Mental Health: Using Cognitive Behavior Therapy to Empower Healing. I recently sat down with Dr Steele to learn more about how clinicians from all backgrounds can not only address issues of race in session, but empower Black clients with a sense of personal pride in their identities. Judith S. Beck, PhD: Research shows that Black Americans who have been exposed to racism often experience depression, anxiety, trauma, and low self-esteem. How is CBT particularly well-suited to empowering Black Americans to...