Racial Trauma
Research

Racism and psychological unwellness.

Racial Trauma

Resources & Research

Racial trauma is the traumatizing psychological impact of experiences of racism. Dr. Williams' scholarly works include racial trauma, PTSD and cultural diversity, historical trauma, cultural trauma, and related materials.

New Hope

A Clinician's Guide to Healing the Wounds of Racial Trauma.

This new book by Dr. Monnica Williams offers a structured, 12-session protocol that empowers therapists to help clients navigate the emotional and psychological scars left by racism.

This protocol is based on empirically-supported approaches, as described in our papers published in Cognitive and Behavioral Practice and Annual Review of Clinical Psychology.

Learn More

Racial Trauma Readings by Topic

Below are some resources and articles that address this issue that have been published in the academic literature. Many of these demonstrate the very long-lasting effects of oppression, institutionalized racism, and violence on individuals, and others are trauma readings with a cultural diversity focus.

Overview and Literature Review

Holmes, S. C., Zare, M., & Haeny, A., & Williams, M. T. (2024). Racial stress, racial trauma, and evidence-based strategies for coping and empowerment. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 20, 77-95. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-081122-020235

Williams, M. T., Khanna Roy, A., MacIntyre, M., & Faber, S. (2021). The traumatizing impact of racism in Canadians of colour. Current Trauma Reports, 8, 17–34. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40719-022-00225-5 [invited]

Williams, M. T., Osman, M., Gran-Ruaz, S., & Lopez, J. (2021). Intersection of racism and PTSD: Assessment and treatment of racism-related stress and trauma. Current Treatment Options in Psychiatry, 8, 167–185. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40501-021-00250-2

Williams, M. T., Haeny, A. & Holmes, S. (2021). Posttraumatic stress disorder and racial trauma. PTSD Research Quarterly, 32(1), 1-9.

Treatment Approaches

Williams, M. T., Holmes, S., Zare, M. Haeny, A. H., & Faber, S. C. (2023). An evidence-based approach for treating stress and trauma due to racism. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 30 (4), 565-588. . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpra.2022.07.001

Bartlett, A., Faber, S., Williams, M., & Saxberg, K. (2022). Getting to the root of the problem: Supporting clients with lived-experiences of systemic discrimination. Chronic Stress, 6, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1177/24705470221139205

Carlson, M. D., Endsley, M., Motley, D., Shawahin, L. N., & Williams, M. T. (2018). Addressing the impact of racism on veterans of color: A race-based stress and trauma group. Psychology of Violence, 8(6), 748-762. http://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000221

Sawyer, B., DeLapp, R. C. T., & Williams, M. T. (2016). Community Violence Exposure, Racial Discrimination, and Barriers to Treatment: Implications for African American Males in Counseling. In W. Ross (Ed.), Counseling African American Males: Effective Therapeutic Interventions and Approaches (pp. 33-60). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

Case Studies

Halstead, M., Reed, S., Krause, R., & Williams, M. T. (2021). Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD related to experiences of racial discrimination. Clinical Case Studies, 20(4), 310-330. https://doi.org/10.1177/1534650121990894

Williams, M. T., Malcoun, E., Sawyer, B., Davis, D. M., Bahojb-Nouri, L. V., & Leavell Bruce, S. (2014). Cultural adaptations of Prolonged Exposure therapy for treatment and prevention of posttraumatic stress disorder in African Americans. Behavioral Sciences — Special Issue: PTSD and Treatment Considerations, 4(2), 102-124. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs4020102

Measures and Assessment

Holmes, S. C., Williams, M. T., Zalewa, D. & Wetterneck, C. T. (2023). Development of the Oppression-Based Traumatic Stress Inventory (OBTSI): A novel and intersectional approach to measuring traumatic stress. Frontiers in Psychology: Psychopathology, 14(1232561), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1232561

Williams, M. T. & Zare, M. (2022). A psychometric investigation of racial trauma symptoms using a semi-structured clinical interview with a trauma checklist (UnRESTS). Chronic Stress, 6, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1177/24705470221145126

Williams, M. T., Osman, M., Gallo, J., Printz, D., Gran-Ruaz, S., Strauss, D., Lester, L., George, J., Edelman, J., & Litman, L. (2022). A clinical scale for the assessment of racial trauma. Practice Innovations, 7(3), 223–240. https://doi.org/10.1037/pri0000178 APA Award for top-downloaded journal article published in 2022.

Williams, M. T., Metzger, I., Leins, C., & DeLapp, C. (2018). Assessing racial trauma within a DSM-5 framework: The UConn Racial/Ethnic Stress & Trauma Survey. Practice Innovations, 3(4), 242-260. http://doi.org/10.1037/pri0000076

Williams, M. T., Pena, A., & Mier-Chairez, J. (2017). Tools for assessing racism-related stress and trauma among Latinos. In L. T. Benuto (Ed.), Toolkit for Counseling Spanish-Speaking Clients. Springer. ISBN: 978-3-319-64880-4. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64880-4_4

Williams, M. T., Printz, D., Ching, T., & Wetterneck, C. T. (2018). Assessing PTSD in ethnic and racial minorities: Trauma and racial trauma. Directions in Psychiatry, 38(3), 179-196.

Williams, M. T., Printz, D., & DeLapp, R. C. T. (2018). Assessing racial trauma with the Trauma Symptoms of Discrimination Scale. Psychology of Violence, 8(6), 735-747. http://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000212

Racism and Trauma in Youth

Steketee, A., Williams, M., Valencia, B., Printz, D., & Hooper, L. M. (2021). Racial and language microaggressions in the school ecology. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 16(5), 1075-1098. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691621995740

Saleem, F. T., Anderson, R. E., & Williams, M. T. (2020). Addressing the "myth" of racial trauma: Developmental and ecological considerations for youth of color. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 23(1), 1–14. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10567-019-00304-1

Sawyer, B., Williams, M.T., DeLapp, R. C. T., & Davis, D. M. (2016). Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. In A. Breland-Noble, C. S. Al-Mateen, & N. N. Singh (Eds.), Handbook of Mental Health in African American Youth (pp. 237-247). Springer. ISBN: 978-3-319-25501-9.

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