Implicit Bias and Mental Health Professionals: Creating Better Understanding for Systems of Child Abuse Professionals

As mental health professionals working at a child advocacy center (CAC), both authors have experienced and researched issues that impact each professional field, which makes up the multidisciplinary team (MDT). These fields primarily include mental health professionals of children, school counselors and school social workers, forensic interviewers, child and family advocates, sexual assault nurse examiners, CAC administrators, Child Protective Service investigators, law enforcement investigators, prosecutors and other attorneys, and judges. Even mental health professionals of children who never intended to specialize in the CAC world will inevitably be working with numerous clients with a trauma and abuse history. Therefore, it is best if all mental health professionals of children become more aware of the CAC world, of the workings of MDTs and of a greater understanding of systems, and of implicit bias that influence thinking, recommendations, and professional behavior with cases of child abuse.