Author(s): Anita Jones Thomas and Sara E. Schwarzbaum

Counselling | Diversity

Culture and Identity combines rich and powerful real life autobiographies with sound theoretical formulations that explore race, ethnicity, gender, class, religion, as well as, in this edition, sexual orientation and disability. Ideal for multicultural counseling courses with a diversity element, this text's engaging stories allow readers to understand the significance and influence of culture on identity development, sense of self, family relationships, interpersonal relationships, and life choices. As the storytellers reveal their real life struggles, readers will develop a greater understanding of intra-group differences, increase their repertoire of clinical skills, and sharpen their multicultural competency. Full of interesting, easy to read true-life stories, centered on various cultural dimensions, that prepare students for real clinical situations, this title includes theoretical content descriptions, closely connected to the stories they follow, with a comprehensive and varied array of themes that current and future clinicians are likely to encounter in their own clients' histories. It provides a clinical applications section in each chapter, with clear, varied, and specific assessment questions and interventions that readers can apply to clients. It offers a valuable, rarely seen countertransference section that describes possible personal reactions clinicians may experience when working with clients, thus enhancing clinical effectiveness. It contains a useful toolbox of activities for each chapter, with discussion questions, research projects, and book and video resources.

About the author:
Anita Jones Thomas, PhD, is a counseling psychologist with specializations in multicultural counseling and family therapy. She received a bachelor's degree in human development and social policy from Northwestern University and a master's degree in community counseling from Loyola University Chicago. Her doctorate in counseling psychology was received from Loyola University Chicago. She is associate professor at Loyola University in Chicago, where she teaches courses in multicultural issues, family therapy, professional identity, and ethics. Her research interests include racial identity, racial socialization, and parenting issues for African Americans. She has also conducted training seminars and workshops on multicultural issues for state and national professional organizations in counseling and psychology, hospitals, and corporations and has served as a consultant for human service organizations. She has served as governor for the Illinois Counseling Association, as president of the Illinois Association for Couples and Family Counseling, and as corresponding secretary for the Association of Black Psychologists, Chicago chapter. She is the co-author, with Sara Schwarzbaum of Culture and Identity: Life stories for counselors and therapists, Sage, 2006. Sara Schwarzbaum, EdD, LCPC, is a family therapist with a specialization in working with Latinos. She has a master's degree in clinical psychology from Buenos Aires, Argentina. She received her doctoral degree in counseling with an emphasis in family therapy from Northern Illinois University. She is currently a professor in the department of Counselor Education and a coordinator of the Master's in Couple and Family Counseling Program at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago, where she teaches internship seminars, family therapy, and multicultural issues courses. Formerly, she coordinated the Latino Family Counseling Program of Lake County, Illinois, where she provided services for Latino families and trained bilingual clinicians. She is also a family therapist in private practice in Lincolnshire, Illinois, and a consultant, trainer, and presenter at state and national conferences, mental health centers, hospitals, community agencies, and universities, where she frequently conducts workshops on clinical issues with Latino clients, the multicultural competency of clinicians, psychotherapy with immigrants families, and ethnocultural countertransference as well as other topics. She is the co-author with Anita Thomas of "Culture and Identity: Life stories for counselors and therapists." Sage (2006)