Understanding Colorism and Addressing Implicit Biases with Latine Families and Communities

Understanding Colorism and Addressing Implicit Biases

with Latine Families and Communities

with

Dr. Milton Fuentes

All mental health practitioners have an ethical obligation to be cognizant of their biases and take steps to minimize or eliminate their impact in their professional efforts. While these are critical endeavors that can be fostered and maintained through intercultural competence. Regretfully, colorism and implicit biases may compromise these efforts with families and communities. Implicit biases, which inform colorism, are cognitive traces that are informed by past experiences and affect our current performance. These biases can lead to problematic attitudes, discriminatory practices, and maladaptive dynamics in our work; hence, practitioners need to be equipped with the necessary knowledge, skills, and attitudes to adequately address these biases and exhibit intercultural competence. To this end, this session will highlight best practices informed by social psychology research for understanding and monitoring implicit biases, as they relate to colorism, while promoting diversity-centered practices with Latine families and communities.

Objectives:

1)    Define colorism and implicit biases

2)    Explain at least one strategy to assess implicit biases

3)    Describe the most current research on the lessening of implicit biases

4)    Discuss the relevance of implicit biases and colorism with the Latine community

NASP Domain: