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African American women have as high, and in some studies higher, rates of trauma as women from other racial groups in substance abuse treatment. This article recommends numerous trauma-informed practices to be used by programs specifically working with women who have experienced trauma. It also recommends a simple agency assessment to identify specific strengths and weaknesses in terms of being able to effectively address trauma.

For example, it is recommended that cultural factors such as strong orientation towards family and community be central to interventions and programs.

The author provides a case study of her daughter’s sexual abuse as a child and subsequent experiences as a “chronically mentally ill” client in the mental health system. Information from 17 years of mental health records and anecdotal accounts are used to illustrate the effects of the abuse, her attempts to reach out for help, and the system’s failure to respond.

This guide provides historical highlights regarding African-American survivors and mental health treatment in America; explores the themes shared in the collected oral histories; provides strategies for using history projects as a tool for personal and community healing and social change; and includes resources to assist you in starting your own history project.

Both survivors of abuse and the professionals they trust give voice in this book to their experiences with individuals, organizations, and systems that have been shaped and influenced in such a way that they frequently harm, rather than help, the individuals they serve. Readers will be moved by their accounts of what hurts, what helps, and what is needed from our service systems for healing and recovery.