Eboni Wooley

New York University

Title: Anti-oppressive Practice in Community-Based Mental Health: Examining Current Research and Clinical Implications

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Biography

Eboni Wooley, DSW, LCSW is a published author and licensed psychotherapist with over a decade of experience in community-based mental health settings and currently works for the largest mental health agency in the state of New York. She holds a Bachelors of Social Work (BSW) with a concentration in Psychology from Western Michigan University. She graduated from New York University with a Master of Social Work (MSW) with a clinical specialization and a Doctorate of Social Welfare (DSW). Also, she is an Adjunct Professor at New York University. In her clinical practice, she brings a wealth of knowledge in trauma-informed care and relational psychoanalysis grounded in Anti-Oppressive Practice to aid her clients in managing their emotional distress. Her scholarly and academic work focuses on examining the intersectionality of race, poverty, and mental health in order to enhance and develop integrative therapy practices for under-resourced clients.

Abstract

Applying an anti-oppressive practice (AOP) framework in community-based psychotherapy requires an assessment of the structural factors affecting a client’s presenting problems. The clinician focuses more on how oppression and power within the larger socioeconomic system of inequality alter the lives of clients. My presentation will explore how adapting an AOP framework seeks to empower marginalized clients by incorporating a resistance to oppression, along with coping strategies in a community-based mental health setting. Incorporating recent literature, this author will analyze the interconnectedness of poverty and emotional distress. Through a brief case exploration of a 43-year-old Latinx woman of low-socioeconomic means who suffers from bipolar disorder, this presentation will examine how power, inequality, and centuries of oppression impact marginalized individuals suffering from emotional distress. An integrative AOP framework will be applied to Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), the current “gold standard” of treatment. Additionally, this presentation will discuss clinical implications to assist mental health providers in actively combating systemic oppression when providing treatment to under-resourced clients.

Keywords: anti-oppressive practice; community-based mental health; psychotherapy, poverty; systemic oppression; Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy