The divergent discourses between scholars from the potentially harmful treatment and multicultural psychology camps are accurately observed by Wendt, Gone, and Nagata. I argue that the differences in perspectives between the two groups are more about a clash of therapeutic worldviews, that they are often antagonistic to one another, that conversations have been a one-way process (with one side “not wanting to hear”), and that sociopolitical forces play a significant role in preventing a true dialogue from occurring. I conclude that the ultimate harm to groups of color is cultural oppression.
American Psychological Association. (2003). Guidelines on multicultural education, training, research, practice, and organizational change for psychologists. American Psychologist, 58, 377-402.
2.
American Psychological Association, Presidential Task Force on Evidence-Based Practice. (2006). Evidence-based practice in psychology. American Psychologist, 61, 271-285.
3.
ArnettJ. J. (2008). The neglected 95%: Why American psychology needs to become less American. American Psychologist, 63, 602-614.
4.
ChamblessD. L.HollonS. (1998). Defining empirically supported therapies. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 66, 7-18.
5.
ChamblessD. L.OllendickT. H. (2001). Empirically supported psychological interventions: Controversies and evidence. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 685-716.
6.
GhaemiS. N. (2010). Levels of evidence. Psychiatric Times, 27, 1-4.
7.
GoneJ. P. (2010). Psychotherapy and traditional healing for American Indians: Exploring the prospects for therapeutic integration. Counseling Psychologist, 38, 166-235.
8.
GuthrieR. V. (1997). Even the rat was White. New York, NY: Harper & Row.
MoodleyR.WestW. (Eds.). (2005). Integrating traditional healing practices into counseling and psychotherapy. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
11.
MoralesE.NorcrossJ. C. (2010). Evidence-based practices with ethnic minorities: Strange bedfellows no more. Journal of Clinical Psychology: In Session, 66, 821-829.
12.
ParhamT. A. (1997). An African-centered view of dual relationships. In HerlihyB.CoreyG. (Eds.), Boundary issues in counseling (pp. 109-112). Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.
13.
SueD. W. (in press). Race talk and the conspiracy of silence: Understanding and facilitating difficult dialogues on race. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.
14.
SueD. W. (1978). Eliminating cultural oppression in counseling: Toward a general theory. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 25, 419-428.
15.
SueD. W. (2010). Microaggressions in everyday life: Race, gender & sexual orientation. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.
16.
SueD. W.IveyA. E.PedersenP. D. (1996). A theory of multicultural counseling and therapy. Thousand Oaks, CA: Brooks/Cole.
17.
SueD. W.SueD. (2013). Counseling the culturally diverse: Theory and practice (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.
18.
ThomasA.SillenS. (1972). Racism and psychiatry. New York, NY: Brunner/Mazel.
19.
WendtD. C.GoneJ. P.NagataD. K. (2015). Potentially harmful therapy and multicultural counseling: Bridging two disciplinary discourses. The Counseling Psychologist, 43(3), 334–358. doi:10.1177/0011000014548280
