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Writer's pictureDr Shungu Hilda M’gadzah

Black teens misdiagnosed with aggression/ hostility disorders when depressed, anxious or traumatised

Updated: Dec 21, 2022

Many thanks Matt Richtel for this post.



For many years myself and other black psychologists (and a few white psychologists) have been raising the issues of differential diagnosis relating to black and ethnic minority children. In the year 2000, I co-edited a professional journal highlighting some of these issues- link below. I have also been concerned about the increasing numbers of young people suffering from mental health issues and the impact of social media. I was particularly interested in hearing your thoughts on this when I watched your interview on CNN. I would love an opportunity to have a discussion with you about my experiences as a black school psychologist over the last 32 years and some of my observations in this area, working within education, mental health services, and as an expert witness in the areas of fitness to plead assessments and as an anti-racism expert witness. https://shop.bps.org.uk/educational-child-psychology-vol-16-no-3-1999-challenging-racism-and-inequality-in-education-and


REFLECTION


So, as I stated above, 23 years ago, I co-edited the Educational and Child Psychology Journal: CHALLENGING RACISM AND INEQUALITY IN EDUCATION AND CHILD PSYCHOLOGY. [See contents list below]


I remember coming up with the title and thinking wow this is so radical- how will it be received! [Check it out, still very relevant today...even more so!]


I guess I feel the same way about my recently published book the Understanding and Dealing with Everyday Racism-The Six Stages Framework.


It's viewed by some as too radical. I approached the Psychologist magazine and that certainly seemed to be the view! Jon Sutton


Maybe we should give it another 23 years for radical approaches such as the Six Stages Diversity Framework to be considered by the Psychologist and the New York times!


It's amazing how a publication by the New York times propels a story into the limelight and suddenly everyone is listening! STILL...its almost the NEW YEAR!!! Hope springs eternal. I was reading the Forbes article 15/12/22 by Dana Brownlee on the documentary ‘Deconstructing Karen’ “There’s a grand paradox about racism. Virtually everyone agrees that racism still rages on, yet virtually no one admits their own racism. Indeed, it seems that our workplaces and broader society are both caught in the grips of an “everyone else is the problem” mentality.” This is the premise of the Six Stages Framework. “Arguably, the stagnation of workplace anti-racism efforts—notoriously long on intention but short on impact—suggests that perhaps workplaces need an intervention, a radically different approach. “ “Indeed, perhaps it’s foolish to expect radically different results unless we’re first ready to have radically different conversations” MAYBE WE WONT HAVE TO WAIT AS LONG AS 23 YEARS! WHAT DO YOU THINK?? https://www.forbes.com/sites/danabrownlee/2022/12/15/deconstructing-karen-documentary-challenges-white-women-to-stop-being-nice-and-start-getting-real-about-antiracism/ Also check out my blogs on my websites https://www.inclusionpsychologists.com/post/are-you-concerned-about-the-increasing-levels-of-hate-crime


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