The racial trauma task force: Clinical-community psychology approaches to healing racial trauma during COVID-19

Due to an increase in media and news attention on anti-Black racism in 2020, the APA declared racism a pandemic as the CDC highlighted the challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, the work described in the current manuscript took place during what is referred to as a double pandemic for Black people in the United States. This paper discusses the impact of this period on a department and its students, the training students advocated for in response to the urgent need for more support for Black communities, and the approaches they used to address racial stress and trauma during this unprecedented time. We outline how one Clinical Psychology program designed and disseminated resources, including a racial trauma guide, public health messaging campaign, podcast, and social media content to increase access to translational research, culturally relevant resources, and psychoeducation to combat racism and discrimination. Analytics and trends demonstrate the impact of the Task Force's initiatives. We summarize the process and recommend clinical-community approaches for healing racial stress and trauma among Black youth, families, and communities.