Team brothers: An africentric approach to group work with african american male adolescents

Abstract

This article describes a group counseling intervention for urban, elementary school age African American boys. TEAM BROTHERS is a multicultural prevention approach using the Nguzo Saba (Swahili word denoting the seven principles of Kwanzaa) to facilitate group interaction and change via Africentric content and process and positive reinforcement. The principal goal is to empower young African American boys to succeed through knowledge of self and cultural heritage. The authors provide a brief description of group process and content to illustrate how a group counselor might implement this multicultural prevention approach in a school setting. Results suggest that the approach had a positive impact on participants' in-school attitudes and behaviors.