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Evaluation ViewAttendees 6

Racial Trauma
Session Type:: Symposia

Symposium 48 - Racial Trauma and Mental Health Among Black Americans: Exploring Moderators and Treatment Implications

Saturday, November 22, 2025
3:30 PM - 4:30 PM CST
Location: Bolden 2, Level 2
CE: 1

Keywords: Racial Trauma, African Americans / Black Americans, Culture
Level of Familiarity: Moderate to Advanced
Recommended Readings: Pieterse, A. L., Todd, N. R., Neville, H. A., & Carter, R. T. (2012). Perceived racism and mental health among Black American adults: a meta-analytic review. Journal of counseling psychology, 59(1), 1.,   Carter, R. T. (2007). Racism and psychological and emotional injury: Recognizing and assessing race-based traumatic stress. The Counseling Psychologist, 35(1), 13-105.,   Jernigan, M. M., & Daniel, J. H. (2011). Racial trauma in the lives of Black children and adolescents: Challenges and clinical implications. Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma, 4(2), 123-141.,   Williams, M., Osman, M., & Hyon, C. (2023). Understanding the psychological impact of oppression using the trauma symptoms of discrimination scale. Chronic Stress, 7, 24705470221149511.,  

Racism is a persistent and well-documented determinant of adverse mental health outcomes within Black individuals and communities, contributing to increased psychological distress, anxiety, depression, and maladaptive health behaviors (Pieterse et al., 2012). Despite the extensive evidence linking racial discrimination to these outcomes, mental health treatment models continue to overlook racism as a core factor in assessment, diagnosis, and intervention (Holmes et al., 2016; Jernigan & Daniel, 2014). The absence of a race-conscious approach in clinical practice leaves Black individuals without the necessary tools to process, cope with, and heal from the psychological toll of systemic and interpersonal racism.

Racism-related stress and trauma are described as the psychological reaction to experiences with racism (Carter, 2007; Comas-Diaz et al., 2019). To elucidate pathways to healing from racism and racial trauma for Black individuals and communities, we must grow our knowledge base. Expanding our knowledge must include an understanding of how racism-related stress and trauma contribute to detrimental mental health outcomes among Black individuals and communities. This symposium seeks to advance the discourse on racism and mental health by critically examining both risk and protective factors that shape mental health trajectories for Black adults. By integrating research on racism-related stress, coping mechanisms, and structural barriers to mental health care, this session makes a compelling case for embedding racism as a central consideration in mental health treatment frameworks. The discussion will highlight the urgency of reorienting clinical and community-based interventions to acknowledge, assess, and address the pervasive impact of racism on the mental health of Black individuals and communities. In doing so, this symposium challenges mental health professionals to move beyond race-neutral models and actively incorporate racial stress, coping, and healing into treatment strategies. True healing can transpire once people receive proper care in response to racism.

Three researchers will present empirical research exploring the connections between racism, mental health, and well-being among Black adults. First, Elijah Murphy will present a study that evaluated how racial trauma is associated with diminished well-being among Black young adults. Second, Morgan Phillips will provide an overview of a study that examined how difficulties with identifying and expressing emotion moderated the relationship between racial trauma and negative emotionality among Black Americans. Third, Ty Robinson will present a study that investigated the moderating role racial identity has on racism and alcohol use disorder among justice-involved and non-justice-involved of Black Americans. Dr. Maryam Jernigan-Noesi will serve as the discussant, highlighting how the three studies fit into the broader scholarship dedicated to exploring the influence of racism on the mental health of Black Americans. Most importantly, the discussant will provide key insights into how future scholarship can inform how practitioners engage and work with Black Americans to promote their mental health and well-being.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session, the learner will be able to:
  1. Identify novel empirical links between racism, racial trauma, well-being, substance use, and emotional suppression among Black Americans.
  2. Distinguish at least three risk and protective factors that influence the relationship between racism and the mental health of Black Americans.
  3. Develop insights into potential interventions to alleviate the adverse psychological and behavioral consequences of racial trauma.

Presentations:

  • 3:33 PM - 3:52 PM CST
    (SYM 48) Racial Trauma and Well-being; How Racism-related Stress and Trauma Influences Various Well-being Outcomes Among Black Young Adults

    Speaker: Elijah R. Murphy, M.A. (he/him/his) – University of Houston

    Co-author: Jasmin R. Brooks Stephens, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – University of California at Berkeley

    Co-author: Matthew W. Gallagher, Ph.D. (he/him/his) – University of Houston

    Co-author: Rheeda Walker, PhD (she/her/hers) – Wayne State University

  • 3:52 PM - 4:11 PM CST
    (SYM 48) The Moderating Role of Alexithymia in the Relationship Between Racial Trauma and Negative Emotionality Among Black Adults

    Speaker: Morgan Phillips, M.A. (she/her/hers) – University of Houston

    Co-author: Ijeoma Madubata, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – VA Maryland Health Care Center

    Co-author: Anka A. Vujanovic, Ph.D. – Texas A&M University

    Co-author: Rheeda Walker, PhD (she/her/hers) – Wayne State University