The Potential Impact of Differences in Client-Counselor Perceptions of Police-Inflicted Violence

Abstract

This paper emphasizes the importance of the counselor’s awareness of personal biases and understanding of how police-inflicted violence impacts marginalized populations. The impact of loss of life and trauma from enduring police-inflicted brutality disproportionately impacts communities of Color and those with mental health challenges. Due to individual experiences and volatile political discourse, there are widely divergent views on the state of current policing in the U.S. Counselors, given the nature of their work with populations at risk for experiencing police-inflicted violence, must be equipped to address such traumatic events with their clients.