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This book examines the deep roots of racism in the mental health system. Suman Fernando weaves the histories of racial discourse and clinical practice into a narrative of power, knowledge, and black suffering in an ostensibly progressive and scientifically grounded system. Drawing on a lifetime of experience as a practicing psychiatrist, he examines how the system has shifted in response to new forms of racism which have emerged since the 1960s, highlighting the widespread pathologization of black people, the impact of Islamophobia on clinical practice after 9/11, and various struggles to reform. Engaging and accessible, this book makes a compelling case for the entrenchment of racism across all aspects of psychiatry and clinical psychology, and calls for a paradigm shift in both theory and practice.
List of contents
1. Introduction.- 2. How 'race' began, and the emergence of psychiatry and clinical psychology.- 3. Race thinking and racism become the norm.- 4. New racisms appear in the 1960s.- 5. Racism in a context of multiculturalism.- 6. Struggle against racism in the UK.- 7. Persistence of racism through white power.- 8. Racism post 9/11.- 9. Racism with the advent of Trump and after Brexit.
About the author
Suman Fernando is Honorary Professor in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities at London Metropolitan University, UK.
Summary
This book examines the deep roots of racism in the mental health system. Suman Fernando weaves the histories of racial discourse and clinical practice into a narrative of power, knowledge, and black suffering in an ostensibly progressive and scientifically grounded system. Drawing on a lifetime of experience as a practicing psychiatrist, he examines how the system has shifted in response to new forms of racism which have emerged since the 1960s, highlighting the widespread pathologization of black people, the impact of Islamophobia on clinical practice after 9/11, and various struggles to reform. Engaging and accessible, this book makes a compelling case for the entrenchment of racism across all aspects of psychiatry and clinical psychology, and calls for a paradigm shift in both theory and practice.
