The Importance of Racial Identity in Forensic Mental Health Assessment

[摘要] raceracial identityforensic mental health assessmentWhen the American Psychiatric Association issued a public apology to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) for its support of structural racism in psychiatry,1 it was both a historic and striking organizational acknowledgment of the harm created by such racism. There are numerous implications for the field of psychiatry broadly, and for other medical and mental health professions, from this public acknowledgment and apology. One such implication is that the recognition of past racially-based harms is necessary to promote more meaningful progress in fairness and justice as they apply to citizens of different races. It further suggests that explicitly considering the impact of race (an approach we will term “race conscious”) is more likely to yield meaningful information in this regard than will an approach that does not openly consider the possibility that race influences the perceptions and behavior of a given individual.

[学科分类] 儿科学

[关键词] race;racial identity;forensic mental health assessment