Treating the black female alcoholic: clinical observations of black therapists

Empirical observations from a decade of treating economically deprived black female alcoholics at the Lincoln Community Health Center in Durham, North Carolina, indicate that recognition of the social and cultural determinants of alcoholism is crucial to treatment. Scrutiny of the approach suggests that the psychopathology of these patients was inextricably intertwined with issues of racism, unemployment, poverty, and substandard housing. It is concluded that a comprehensive health care approach that utilizes the input of a black female therapist as the case manager has distinct advantages.