Monica Williams and colleagues (2018) developed a semi-structured interview called the University of Connecticut Racial/Ethnic Stress & Trauma Scale (UnRESTS). This measure is offered in both English and Spanish, and provides a more comprehensive assessment of race-based trauma relative to existing measures. Because it is an interview, it can facilitate the conversation between the client and clinician regarding the client’s experiences with racism and help the clinician build rapport with the client. This may be particularly helpful for clinicians who are unsure how or what to ask about racially-charged topics. The format of the UnRESTS is modeled after the DSM-5 Cultural Formulation Interview (APA, 2013). 

Assessing Racial Trauma Within a DSM–5 Framework: The UConn Racial/Ethnic Stress and Trauma Survey (Williams et al., 2018). This article aims to provide a theoretical basis for the traumatizing nature of various forms of racism within the 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders’ framework for PTSD. It provides a review of the literature and existing measures for the assessment of racial trauma and introduces the UConn Racial/Ethnic Stress & Trauma Survey (UnRESTS), a clinician-administered interview. The UnRESTS is useful to clinicians as an aid to uncovering racial trauma, developing a culturally informed case conceptualization, and including experiences of racism in the diagnosis of PTSD when warranted.