Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-swr86 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-17T16:37:54.607Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

9 - Shifting in Black Women: Clinical Implications

from Part III - Core Themes in Black Women’s Stress and Distress

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 June 2023

Donna Baptiste
Affiliation:
Northwestern University, Illinois
Adia Gooden
Affiliation:
Unconditionally Worthy, Co.
Get access

Summary

Drawing on the work of Jones and Shorter-Gooden (2003), we review the concept of “shifting” as it relates to Black women and the contexts in which they live and move. We discuss the ways that Black women may shift in the context of their workplace, intimate, and familial relationships. We highlight how shifting can be unavoidable and automatic for Black women, which can also leave them feeling inauthentic. We share the emotional toll that shifting can take on Black women. This chapter includes specific recommendations to increase Black female clients’ awareness of shifting with strategies to help them settle into authenticity and self-acceptance.

Type
Chapter
Information
Promoting Black Women's Mental Health
What Practitioners Should Know and Do
, pp. 214 - 235
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Books

Anderson, C. (2021). Intelligence isn’t enough: A black professionals guide to thriving in the workplace. Jonathan Ball Publishers.Google Scholar
Jones, C., & Gooden, K. S. (2003). Shifting: The double lives of black women in America. HarperCollins Publishers.Google Scholar
Tatum, B.D. (2017). Why are all the black kids sitting together in the cafeteria?: And other conversations about race (2nd ed.). Basic Books.Google Scholar

Podcasts

Hodson, T. (Executive Producer). (2020, July 28). Code-switching is a form of systemic racism against blacks [Audio podcast episode]. In Spectrum. WOUB Public Media. https://woub.org/2020/07/28/code-switching-is-a-form-of-systemic-racism-against-blacks/Google Scholar
Pharm, J. (Host). (2020–present). Blackness and the workplace [Audio podcast]. https://www.blacknessandtheworkplace.com/podcastGoogle Scholar

Films

Melfi, T. (Director). (2016). Hidden figures [Film]. Fox 2000 Pictures.Google Scholar

Media Resources

Netflix. (2018, May 18). What had happened was. Episode 2: Code switching [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/5iQuATmEbVwGoogle Scholar

References

Braun, C. B. (1999). African American women, Afrocentrism and feminism: Implications for therapy. Women & Therapy, 22(4), 116.Google Scholar
Cotter, E. W., Kelly, N. R., Mitchell, K. S., & Mazzeo, S. E. (2015). An investigation of body appreciation, ethnic identity, and eating disorder symptoms in Black women. Journal of Black Psychology, 41(1), 325. https://doi.org/10.1177/0095798413502671Google Scholar
Crenshaw, K. W. (2017). On intersectionality: Essential writings. The New Press.Google Scholar
DiAngelo, R. (2018). White fragility: Why it’s so hard for White people to talk about racism. Beacon Press.Google Scholar
Dickens, D. D., & Chavez, E. L. (2018). Navigating the workplace: The costs and benefits of shifting identities at work among early career US Black women. Sex Roles, 78(11–12), 760774. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199–017-0844-xGoogle Scholar
Dickens, D. D., Womack, V. Y., & Dimes, T. (2019). Managing hypervisibility: An exploration of theory and research on identity shifting strategies in the workplace among Black women. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 113, 153163.Google Scholar
Essed, P. (1991). Understanding everyday racism: An interdisciplinary theory. Sage.Google Scholar
Franklin, A. J. (1998). Treating anger in African American men. In Pollack, W. S. & Levant, R. F. (Eds.), New psychotherapy for men (pp. 239258). John Wiley.Google Scholar
Gamst, G., Arellano-Morales, L., Meyers, L. S., Serpas, D. G., Balla, J., Diaz, A., Dobson, K., Feller, C., Rought, S., Salazar, B., Garcia, S., & Aldape, R. (2020). Shifting can be stressful for African American women: A structural mediation model. Journal of Black Psychology, 46(5), 364387.Google Scholar
Greene, B. (1997). Psychotherapy with African American women: Integrating feminist and psychodynamic models. Smith College Studies in Social Work, 67(3), 299322. https://doi.org/10.1080/00377319709517495CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Griffin, C. (2019, July 3). How natural Black hair at work became a civil rights issue. JSTOR Daily. https://daily.jstor.org/how-natural-black-hair-at-work-became-a-civil-rights-issue/Google Scholar
Grumet, R., & Fitzpatrick, M. (2016). A case for integrating values clarification work into cognitive behavioral therapy for social anxiety disorder. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 26(1), 1121. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0039633Google Scholar
Hall, J. C., Everett, J. E., & Hamilton-Mason, J. (2012). Black women talk about workplace stress and how they cope. Journal of Black Studies, 43(2), 207226.Google Scholar
Holden, M. (2019, August 12). LGBTQ people are forced to constantly code-switch and it’s exhausting. Vice. https://www.vice.com/en/article/evj47w/the-exhausting-work-of-lgbtq-code-switchingGoogle Scholar
Johnson, J. C., Gamst, G., Meyers, L. S., Arellano-Morales, L., & Shorter-Gooden, K. (2016). Development and validation of the African American Women’s Shifting Scale (AAWSS). Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 22(1), 1125. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000039CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jones, C. & Shorter-Gooden, K. (2003). Shifting: The double lives of Black women in America. HarperCollins.Google Scholar
Jones, M. S., Womack, V., Jérémie-Brink, G., & Dickens, D. D. (2021). Gendered racism and mental health among young adult US Black women: The moderating roles of gendered racial identity centrality and identity shifting. Sex Roles, 85, 221231.Google Scholar
Marks, L. D., Hopkins, K., Chaney, C., Monroe, P. A., Nesteruk, O., & Sasser, D. D. (2008). “Together, we are strong”: A qualitative study of happy, enduring African American marriages. Family Relations, 57(2), 172185.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCracken, L. M., & Keogh, E. (2009). Acceptance, mindfulness, and values-based action may counteract fear and avoidance of emotions in chronic pain: An analysis of anxiety sensitivity. The Journal of Pain, 10(4), 408415. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2008.09.015Google Scholar
Menakem, R. (2017). My grandmother’s hands: Racialized trauma and the pathway to mending our hearts and bodies. Central Recovery Press.Google Scholar
Nadal, K. L., Griffin, K. E., Wong, Y., Hamit, S., & Rasmus, M. (2014). The impact of racial microaggressions on mental health: Counseling implications for clients of color. Journal of Counseling & Development, 92(1), 5766.Google Scholar
Reid, P. T. (1988). Racism and sexism: Comparisons and conflicts. In Katz, P. A. & Taylor, D. (Eds.), Eliminating racism: Profiles in controversy (pp. 203221). Plenum Press.Google Scholar
Reskin, B. F., McBrier, D. B., & Kmec, J. A. (1999). The determinants and consequences of workplace sex and race composition. Annual Review of Sociology, 25(1), 335361.Google Scholar
Romero, R. E. (2000). The icon of the strong Black woman: The paradox of strength. In Jackson, L. C. & Greene, B. (Eds.), Psychotherapy with African American women: Innovations in psychodynamic perspectives and practice (pp. 225238). Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Russell, K. Y., Wilson, M., & Hall, R. E. (1992). The color complex: The politics of skin color among African Americans. Anchor.Google Scholar
Shorter-Gooden, K. (2012). The paradox of the margin: Advantages for institutional transformation.  In Curtis-Boles, H., Adams, D., & Jenkins-Monroe, L. (Eds.), Making our voices heard: Women of color in academia (pp. 165175). Nova Science.Google Scholar
Shorter-Gooden, K., & Jackson, L. C. (2000). The interweaving of cultural and intrapsychic issues in the therapeutic relationship. In Jackson, L. C. & Greene, B. (Eds.), Psychotherapy with African American women: Innovations in psychodynamic perspectives and practice (pp. 1532). Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Thacker, K. (2016). The art of authenticity: Tools to become an authentic leader and your best self. John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
West, C. M. (1995). Mammy, Sapphire, and Jezebel: Historical images of Black women and their implications for psychotherapy. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 32(3), 458466.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×