The Intrapsychic Psychological Binds of Poverty and Race The Intersection of Mind and Milieu.
Race and poverty are poignant factors in how individuals and communities experience the world. The reality is that more people of color than White people live in poverty (Milner, 2013). How these inequalities intersect with the mind and environment is of compelling importance. The experiences of race and living in poverty are riddled with innumerable stressors and barriers, and as a result are subject to the experience of a range of mental health issues. Those that live the experience of trauma related to race and poverty suffer disproportionately from a host of hardships that contribute to psychological distress that can have a profound effect on mental health and serve as intrapsychic binds. These internalized weights require therapeutic supports to alleviate the internal oppressive circumstances by those that are immersed in the experience on a daily basis. This article explores the intersection of these psychological binds and their effect on human behavior.