Racial Trauma in the School System

Racial Trauma in the School System provides foundational and clinical information for school-based mental health professionals to better understand and address the nuanced experience of racial trauma in their school. The book focuses on conceptualizing racial trauma and the impact it has on a child’s development and academic functioning, providing information on how to look at racially based experiences through a trauma-informed lens. Examining a wide range of racial and ethnic identities, chapters explore critical issues such as ethno-racial identity development and diagnostic classifications to help readers develop a conceptual lens to guide their approach. The clinical application of theory to practice is emphasized using complex case studies and the explanation of practical interventions. This text is the first of its kind to focus exclusively on discussing the impact of racial trauma on children and to discuss the intersection between identity and racism in the school system. Geared toward school-based professionals, this book considers racial trauma across a wide range of contexts and clinical presentations for other mental health professionals to adapt and apply the content to their clinical practice.

Connesia Handford, PsyD, is a Black psychologist working in Austin, Texas. She specializes in addressing Black mental health and racial trauma across the developmental life span. Ariel D. Marrero, PsyD, is a Latinx psychologist working in the San Francisco Bay Area. She specializes in the intersection between a child’s mental health needs and their overall school functioning.