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A Theoretical Model of Psychosomatic Illness in Blacks and an Innovative Treatment Strategy

University of California, Davis

In regard to Black people in America, the internal colonialism model makes the researcher cognizant of the phenomenon "controlled oppressed environment." In this context, Blackness, which has an obvious biological base, is a highly stress-induced stimulus because of the negative attitudes toward it. For some Blacks, this circumstance is catalytic to or evokes psychosomatic illness. It is proposed that a holistic paradigm serve as the theoretical under pinning of interventions into psychosomatic illness. A particular holistic paradigm is proposed that is built on the supposition that there is an interplay between physiologic and psychologic processes. Furthermore, it relies upon general system theory and a hierarchical conceptuali zation of the nervous system and consciousness. Based on the conceptual model, T'ai Chi Ch'uan is proposed as an appropriate holistic intervention to actively assault upon the Black individual's psychosomatic disorder.

Journal of Black Psychology, Vol. 7, No. 1, 27-43 (1980)
DOI: 10.1177/009579848000700103


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