Print

viii Foreword being Black and female. They talk about being poor being LGBTQ/PAN/ nonconforming/nonbinary having a disability experiences in higher education. They add all of the identities that make the Black/African American woman the individual that she is in the context in which she lives. Drs. Shelton, Lyn, Endale and their colleagues tell all of us that it is perfect for that woman to be whom she is. Their book lets us know that Black women are welcome in their offices and can be welcome in your office too. It was Kimberle Crenshaw (1989) who coined the term intersectionality, and we began to understand gendered racism. But that was just the begin- ning. Shelton et al. now tell the reader about the kinds of mental health problems that are layered on the multiple identities of Black women. Afri- can American women have depression, anxiety, bipolar, substance abuse issues, eating disorders, suffer from partner violence, have loneliness, and every other issue that the entire population deals with. These writers tell us that there are those out there who can serve these Black women and even more can serve if they just have enough training. In this book the authors demonstrate numerous mental health challenges and add case descriptions of African American women in order to help the practitio- ner understand how to apply interventions with Black women who are dealing with PTSD or alcoholism or whatever comes through the door. Consistent throughout their descriptions is the call to create safe environ- ments that empower and give permission to African American women to be themselves and heal. In individual, couple and family, or group coun- seling, or in residential treatment, this book will help the practitioner learn how to intervene with African American women. REFERENCE Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A Black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics. University of Chicago Legal Forum: Vol. 1989, Article 8. http://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/uclf/vol1989/iss1/8