Appalachian Americans: Issues and Concerns for Counseling and Psychotherapy

Appalachian Americans: Issues and Concerns for Counseling and Psychotherapy, an edited book, by Drs. Daya Singh Sandhu, Jeffrey Parsons, and Quentin Hunter, has recently made debut in the fields of multicultural and cross-cultural scholarship and practice as sui generis, a unique book of its kind in many ways. This is perhaps one of the few books that brings counseling needs and mental health problems of the Appalachian people at the forefront for the first time. Generally, Appalachian Americans have been neglected, overlooked, or just forgotten in the past. Since the Civil Rights Act of 1964, when culturally different, racially diverse, and people of color started getting attention as an integral part of the American society, multiculturalism became one of the major research interests of social scientists. As a result, most of the multicultural scholarship focused on the cultural identity, cultural worldviews, cultural values of five major racial groups which included, European Americans, African Americans, Latina/Latino Americans, Asian Americans, and Native Americans. Appalachian Americans: Issues and Concerns for Counseling and Psychotherapy is very different, unique, and distinct from most of the previous multicultural publications. This book is not based on the racial or cultural identity of the Appalachian people, it is distinctly based on the issues relating to social marginalization, economic and social injustices, and inequities. It focuses much of its attention on the impact of the oppression and social marginalization on Appalachian people's lives. In its very first and rare attempt, this powerful book explores and discusses the effects of geography on the personality and special rules for living on the Appalachian Americans. Appalachian trails, also called trails of tears, have been sadly neglected by the multicultural scholarship and institutions of higher learning. While people in the other parts of the country enjoy beautiful sceneries of mountains and their ranges, but people from Appalachia living on the same mountains call their challenges of life as mountains of problems. The contributors of this book are commended for opening new vistas and visions for the Appalachian people to tread proudly and fearlessly on many unbeaten paths of their lives without worrying about becoming prisoners of mountains. More than ethnic, cultural, and racial conflicts, Appalachian people face more economical and environmental racism and discriminations mostly caused by the big corporations who are hungry for coal from the Appalachia. Many authors have discussed issues relating to social, psychological, and environmental needs of the Appalachian people and offered strategies of social justice and advocacy to deal with poverty, injustices, and social marginalization that is so prevalent in the Appalachian Land. The aim of this textbook is to address the mental health problems and counseling needs of the Appalachian people and it is indispensable for mental health professionals, professional counselors, psychologists, social workers, psychiatrists, and all other people interested in the physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being of the Appalachian people. I hope it will adorn your home library soon. Daya Singh Sandhu August 29, 2019

Table of Contents:
IntroductionAppalachian Americans: The Invisible MinorityAppalachian-Americans Collectivist Values: Implications for CounselingReckoning Appalachia: Considerations for Culturally Counseling in an Appalachian ContextValue Systems and Mental Health Awareness in Appalachia: Exploration of Wellness and Quality of LifeImplications for Complicated Grief in AppalachiaIdentification and Treatment of Dyslexia in Appalachian School SystemsCareer Counseling and Development in AppalachiaClimbing the Stone Wall: Clinical Resistance in Appalachian-American ClientsAppalachia, My Heart, My Home: Some Personal Experiences and PerspectivesAppalachian Young Womans Struggles: A Critical Appraisal and Appreciation of an Autobiographical NarrativeMen in Appalachia: Considerations for CounselorsPlay Therapy with Appalachian YouthAppalachian Single Mothers Attending CollegeDomestic Violence in Appalachia: Changing the Culture of Abuse and TraumaCounseling Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Appalachian ClientsAn Intersectional ApproachTrans-affirmative Counseling with Family Members of People Identifying as TransgenderCounseling Latino and Spanish-Speaking ClientsVocational Rehabilitation Concerns for Adults with Disabilities and Chronic Health Conditions in AppalachiaEngaging Rural Clients with Substance Abuse Concerns Through the Use of Motivational InterviewingPromoting Effective Treatment and Public Health Efforts to Combat Use of Smokeless Tobacco Products among Appalachian Male Adults and YouthDiversity Assessment Scale: Indicators of Diversity Implementation in Higher EducationAppalachia and Appalachian AmericansMulticultural, Diversity, and Minority Issues: Some Selected ConceptsFinal Reflections: An EpilogueAbout the EditorsAbout the ContributorsIndex.