Becoming Who We Are BECOMING BOOK - PODCAST | Page 26

Why aren’t our children getting help?
“Cultural overshadowing” is a significant barrier to
helping our children and teens, especially when they
display abnormal behavior. Dr. George Woods, a
prominent African-American psychiatrist, used this term –
cultural overshadowing - to describe children and teens
who act out behaviorally, due to serious neurological,
emotional, psychological trauma or mental health issues,
yet the assumption is made that the child is “acting out”
due to problems related to childrearing, poverty, drugs,
etc.