BUILDING RESILIENCE WITH CLIENTS WHO FACE MULTIPLE FORMS OF OPPRESSION

This chapter focuses on an activity for clients who face multiple intersecting minority identities. Clients will be encouraged to explore the multiple identities they hold and how experiences of oppression affect them in their everyday life. Additionally, clients will be invited to assess their individual strengths and values and be guided in how to use these strengths and values to participate in collective action that is meaningful to them to build resilience against incidents of discrimination. The minority stress framework posits that group-level coping strategies may build further resilience and thus lessen the negative mental health consequences associated with oppression for sexual-minority persons. DeBlaere and colleagues investigated the protective power of collective action for sexual-minority women of color in the context of multiple discrimination experiences and psychological distress. American Psychological Association distinguishes between clients who are more comfortable with their sexual orientation and those who are not as comfortable when referring clients to social resources.