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Disproportionate Diagnosis of Mental Disorders Among African American Versus European American Clients: Implications for Counseling Theory, Research, and Practice
Author(s) -
Schwartz Robert C.,
Feisthamel Kevin P.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of counseling and development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.805
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1556-6676
pISSN - 0748-9633
DOI - 10.1002/j.1556-6678.2009.tb00110.x
Subject(s) - psychiatry , psychology , clinical psychology , mental health , african american , medical diagnosis , race (biology) , medicine , ethnology , pathology , botany , biology , history
Research generated by the professions of psychiatry and psychology reveals that African Americans are more often diagnosed with specific mental disorders (e.g., psychotic disorders) compared with European Americans. No research to date, however, has investigated whether professional counselors make differential diagnoses according to client race. This study ( N = 1,648) found that counselors diagnosed African Americans with psychotic and childhood disorders at a disproportionately high rate. Implications for counseling theory and practice are discussed.