Caring for Trauma in Underserved Communities: Enhancing Psychotherapy

Underserved communities-especially communities of color in the United States-face disproportionate exposure to trauma because of social and structural inequalities. These factors give rise to intergenerational transmission of trauma and inform cultural beliefs about psychotherapy and mental health care more broadly. Increasingly, individual psychotherapies developed in diverse settings, as well as community-based psychosocial interventions, show evidence of client engagement, acceptability, and efficacy. The authors describe upstream and immediate factors that increase vulnerability to trauma among U.S. Black communities facing adversity. Vulnerabilities and strengths shaped by colonialism and enslavement are also examined across communities of color. Although psychotherapy for communities of color can play a vital role in healing personal harms shaped by structural threats, it is insufficient without additional resources. Providers and communities must collaborate in order to understand and reduce structural stigmas that are sources of trauma and barriers to care.