Black Caribbeans seeking mental health treatment in the United States may be mistakenly identified as African American because of their shared skin tone and features. This racial consolidation does not take into account their distinct histories, immigrant experiences, and cultural separateness and may be particularly problematic in therapy. We explored the mental health therapy experiences of eight Black Caribbeans in the United States in this phenomenological qualitative study. We highlight themes that bring to life the client experiences and reveal if and how the counselors addressed the client’s cultural distinctiveness. Implications for mental health counselors include the importance of respectful inquisitiveness about cultural identities and immigration experiences and the importance of inviting Black Caribbean clients by mentioning knowledge of Caribbean cultures in one’s practice information.
ArredondoP.ToporekR.BrownS.JonesJ.LockeD. C.SanchezJ.StadlerH. (1996). Operationalization of the multicultural counseling competencies. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 24, 42-78.
3.
AsburyC. A.WalkerS.BelgraveF. Z.MaholmesV.GreenL. (1994). Psychosocial, cultural, and accessibility factors associated with participation of African Americans in rehabilitation. Rehabilitation Psychology, 39, 113-121.
4.
BalaramA. (2018). (Re)theorizing hybridity for the study of identity and difference. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 12, e12413. doi:10.1111/spc3.12413
5.
BaptisteD. A.Jr.HardyK. V.LewisL. (1997). Family therapy with English Caribbean immigrant families in the United States: Issues of emigration, immigration, culture and race. Contemporary Family Therapy, 19, 337-359.
6.
BashiV. (2007). Survival of the knitted: Immigrant social networks in a stratified world. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
7.
BauldryS.SzaflarskiM. (2017). Immigrant-based disparities in mental health care utilization. Socius. Advance online publication. doi:10.1177/2378023116685718
8.
BromanC. L.NeighborsH. W.DelvaJ.TorresM.JacksonJ. S. (2008). Prevalence of substance use disorders among African Americans and Caribbean Blacks in the National Survey of American Life. American Journal of Public Health, 98, 1107-1114. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2006.100727
9.
CaseA. D.HunterC. D. (2014). Cultural racism-related stress in Black Caribbean immigrants: Examining the predictive roles of length of residence and racial identity. Journal of Black Psychology, 40, 410-423.
10.
ChungR. C.BemakF.OrtizD. P.Sandoval-PerezP. A. (2008). Promoting the mental health of immigrants: A multicultural/social justice perspective. Journal of Counseling & Development, 86, 310-317.
11.
CrenshawK. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A Black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics. University of Chicago Legal Forum, 1989, 139-167. Retrieved from http://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/uclf/vol1989/iss1/8
12.
CreswellJ. (2013). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
13.
Day-VinesN. L.WoodS. M.GrothausT.CraigenL.HolmanA.Dodson-BlakeK.DouglassM. J. (2007). Broaching the subject of race, ethnicity, and culture during the counseling process. Journal of Counseling & Development, 85, 401-409.
14.
Gopaul-McNicolS. (1998). Caribbean families: Social and emotional problems. Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless, 7, 55-72.
15.
HallS. P.CarterR. T. (2006). The relationship between racial identity, ethnic identity, and perceptions of racial discrimination in an Afro-Caribbean descent sample. Journal of Black Psychology, 32, 155-175. doi:10.1177/0095798406287071
16.
HaysD. G.SinghA. A. (2012). Qualitative inquiry in clinical and educational settings. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
17.
HimleJ. A.BaserR. E.TaylorR. J.CampbellR. D.JacksonJ. S. (2009). Anxiety disorders among African Americans, Blacks of Caribbean descent, and non-Hispanic Whites in the United States. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 23, 578-590.
18.
HutchinsonG.NeehallJ. E.SimeonD. T.LittlewoodR. (1999). Perceptions about mental illness among pre-clinical medical students in Trinidad and Tobago. West Indian Medical Journal, 48, 81-85.
19.
JacksonJ.TorresM.CaldwellC.NeighborsH.NesseR.TaylorR.. . . WilliamsD. (2004). The National Survey of American Life: A study of racial, ethnic and cultural influences on mental disorders and mental health. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 13, 196-207.
20.
JoeS.BaserR. E.BreedenG.NeighborsH. W.JacksonJ. S. (2006). Prevalence of and risk factors for lifetime suicide attempts among blacks in the United States. Journal of American Medical Association, 296, 2112-2123.
21.
Kohn-WoodL. P.HooperL. M. (2014). Cultural competency, culturally tailored care, and the primary care setting: Possible solutions to reduce racial/ethnic disparities in mental health care. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 36, 173-188.
22.
Lorick-WilmotY. (2010). Creating Black Caribbean ethnic identity. El Paso, TX: LFB.
23.
MascayanoF.TapiaT.SchillingS.AlvaradoR.TapiaE.LipsW.YangL. H. (2016). Stigma toward mental illness in Latin America and the Caribbean: A systematic review. Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatria, 38(1), 73-85.
24.
MilesM. B.HubermanA. M. (2014). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
25.
MitchellN. A.BryanJ. (2007). School-family-community partnerships: Strategies for school counselors working with Caribbean immigrant families. Professional School Counseling, 10, 399-409.
26.
MoustakasC. E. (1994). Phenomenological research methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
27.
MurphyE.MahalingamR. (2004). Transnational ties and mental health of Caribbean immigrants. Journal of Immigrant Health, 6, 167-178.
28.
PattonM. Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
29.
RogersR. R. (2006). Afro-Caribbean immigrants and the politics of incorporation: Ethnicity, exception or exit. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
30.
SueD. W.SueD. (2013). Counseling the culturally diverse: Theory and practice (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.
31.
TaylorD.RichardsD. (2019). Triple jeopardy: Complexities of racism, sexism, and ageism on the experiences of mental health stigma among young Canadian Black Women of Caribbean descent. Frontiers in Sociology. Advance online publication. doi:10.3389/fsoc.2019.00043
32.
TaylorR. J.ChattersL. M.MattisJ. S.JoeS. (2010). Religious involvement among Caribbean Blacks in the United States. Review of Religious Research, 52, 125-145.
ThompsonV.BazileA.AkbarM. (2004). African Americans’ perceptions of psychotherapy and psychotherapists. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 35, 19-26.
35.
TuchS. A.Shaw-TaylorY. (Eds.). (2007). The other African Americans: Contemporary African and Caribbean immigrants in the United States. Lanham, MD: Rowan & Littlefield.
36.
WatersC. (1994). Ethnic and racial identities of second-generation Black immigrants in New York City. International Migration Review, 28, 795-820.
37.
WatersC. (1999). Black identities: West Indian immigrant dreams and American realities. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
38.
WilliamsD.HaileR.GonzalezH.NeighborsH.BaserR.JacksonJ. (2007). The mental health of Black Caribbean immigrants: Results from the National Survey of American Life. American Journal of Public Health, 97, 52-59. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2006.088211
39.
WoodwardA. T.TaylorR. J.BullardK. M.NeighborsH. W.ChattersL. M.JacksonJ. S. (2008). Use of professional and informal support by African Americans and Caribbean Blacks with mental disorders. Psychiatric Services, 59, 1292-1298.
40.
YorkeC. B.VoisinD. R.BaptisteD. (2016). Factors related to help-seeking attitudes about professional mental health services among Jamaican immigrants. International Social Work, 59, 293-304. doi:10.1177/0020872813508573
