Page 12
January 22, 2020
Putting Kids and Families First
C ontinued froM p age 1
kids, and so she was fighting.”
So the root cause of the girl’s problems
was not internal, but external, Overton
said.
“All of her therapists were white, all
of her social workers were white, and she
didn’t have anyone to voice that issue to,
so they all decided it was an intrinsic defi-
cit in her when really it was completely
environmental.”
Overton said she started working with
the girl, but she couldn’t even begin their
sessions until she agreed to do her hair.
“My direct supervisor said, ‘Why are
you taking so long with this client?’ and
I said, ‘I’m doing an intervention.’ It was
her hair. I had to do her hair before we
could even talk.”
Once word got out among the black
kids that there was an African American
social worker, they all asked for Overton,
which became overwhelming to the point
that she started a group called Naime, her
daughter’s name, which means peace,
tranquility, healing and gifts.
“So I would tell my (white) colleagues,
‘You deal with their regular diagnosis, as
you have it on paper, and then refer to my
group where we’ll address the cultural is-
sues,” she said. “Because I can’t have kids
waiting (for her) and lacking service, but
at the same time, I realized the need for
meeting that cultural piece.”
That realization inspired Overton to
go a step further by writing a book about
black girls’ experiences that can be used
by her white colleagues, called “Aminah
Brown Breaks it Down.”
“It’s about a girl in foster care in a very
white city and how she navigates the sys-
tem,” she said, and it’s based on – and
with the permission of – a former client
who’s now 26 and whom Overton first
met when the girl was 12 years old
She writes about real life situations in
the book so others can better understand
the experiences of young black girls and
the difficulties faced by African American
girls in foster care.
Overton said she often stays in touch
with her clients, not to continue treatment,
but as a referral source.
“With a lot of my clients, I’ll say we’re
closing your case, you’ve met all your
treatment objectives, but I know you don’t
have someone around the corner who can
give you resources,” she said. “So if you
need resource, call me.”
Overton expects to finish her book in
the near future. She hopes it will help
white therapists expand their cultural
awareness.
The current model for social work
practices is “very Eurocentric,” she said,
which can sometimes be harmful to com-
munities of color. If a white therapist is
not prepared to work with kids of color, it
can be awkward, she said.
“If they’re not prepared, they feel un-
comfortable and turn all kinds of shades
and they (the kids) see that,” she said.
“But if they read the book along with the
girls, it’s easy for a white therapist to say,
‘Have you ever felt like that in this situa-
tion?’ That gives them a foundational way
to engage them without trying to pry and
without them having to. It gives the ther-
apist some insights, or maybe to get them
someone to support them in this area, or
find them a mentor. It might be eye open-
ing for the therapist, but it might be af-
firming for the client.”
To learn more about Black Parent Ini-
tiative or to make a donation to its efforts,
log onto www.thebpi.org.