This literature review examines current literature around theoretical and clinical interventions with African Americans, with the objective of stepping beyond cultural competency to culturally resonant and congruent practices. This review engages literature in the areas of African-centered/Black psychology, historical trauma, and proposes that contemporary problems in African American communities have historical roots. The method of this study engages a review of literature utilizing an Afrocentric methodology (Mkabela, 2005) and integrates theories of intergenenerational trauma (Danieli, 1998), Post-traumatic Slave Syndrome/PTSS (DeGruy Leary, 2005), Intergenerational patterns of Emotional Inheritance/Anti-intimacy Beliefs (Richardson & Wade, 1999) and Soul wound (Duran, 2006; Duran & Duran, 1995) in an African American context. The definition of terms of intergenerational trauma, soul wound/ historical trauma, intergenerational patterns of Emotional Inheritance/Anti-intimacy, post-traumatic slave syndrome, racism, agency, internalized oppression, African-centered/Black psychology and spirituality are engaged.

The following research questions are engaged: RQ-1 (a) What are the limitations of current concepts of cultural competency in working with African Americans? RQ-2 (a) How are African American social researchers/clinicians engaging concepts of intergenerational trauma in the African American community? How have they operationalized their concepts of intergenerational trauma? What treatment strategies have they employed? RQ-2 (b) What could future strategies look like that incorporate African-centered/Black Psychology and intergenerational trauma?

A theory based in the literature will be discussed by operationalizing a concept of an African American soul wound and proposing a theoretical intervention model using an African-centered/Black psychology lens (Queener & Martin, 2001; Akbar, 1995; Myers L. , 1988), with the intention to contribute to culturally competent clinical interventions with African Americans and in the education of psychology trainees.