According to a recent survey of companies across the U.S., 98 percent of respondents said they’d either implemented or planned to implement a mental health benefit as part of their compensation package. Research suggests that many Americans lack access to information that builds mental health literacy. Navigating the health care system can be confusing and time-consuming. Research has shown that when people are of the same race or ethnicity as their provider, they are more likely to stay engaged in treatment. For example, in one study, just 12 percent of Asian Americans said they’d mention their mental health challenges to a friend or relative, and only 4 percent would go to a psychiatrist or specialist for help. It permeates across ethnicities, gender identities, and backgrounds and deters people from getting needed support.
Strategies for providing access to culturally competent healthcare
The focus had to be on conducting mental health research, https://www.mountaineers.org/blog/honoring-indigenous-peoples-through-education rather than clinical assessment and/or treatment. The search strategy comprised of keywords, synonyms, and controlled vocabulary (subject / MeSH headings) relating to the two related concepts of ‘cultural sensitivity’ and ‘mental health research’. Given this relationship between cultural misunderstanding or prejudice, diagnosis and treatment, it is important that researchers and clinicians work to build services and research practices which are sensitive to cultural needs and differences.
- By weaving these culturally-related strengths into therapy, we can make mental health care more inclusive and reduce disparities.
- Cultural competence, safety and anti-racism training and accreditation standards for practitioners and for healthcare education, service systems and institutions; 2.
- In culturally responsive therapy, recognizing and embracing the unique strengths and resources that clients bring from their cultural backgrounds is crucial.
“Aundraea’s work underscores cultural competence as an ongoing, relational and humility-driven process rather than a static skill set,” Harrell said. Harrell noted that Brown’s dissertation is particularly timely in today’s social work landscape, where schools are increasingly tasked with addressing complex mental health needs amid shifting political and structural constraints. “She navigated the rigorous demands of doctoral study while serving as a full-time clinical director overseeing mental health programming within a large charter school network, responsibilities that would be arduous for any student. One key finding revealed that cultural competence is not viewed as a fixed skill, but as an ongoing and evolving process rooted in humility, curiosity, reflection and relationship-building. Brown observed a recurring gap between how cultural competence is taught in professional training and how it is practiced in school settings. Cultural responsiveness in therapy involves understanding and integrating a client’s cultural background, beliefs, and values into the therapeutic process.
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This understanding will broaden as they gain knowledge and direct experience with the cultural groups of their client population, enabling them to better frame client issues and interact with clients in culturally specific and appropriate ways. Prochaska and DiClemente’s (1984) classic transtheoretical model of change is applicable to culturally diverse populations. Although an assessment of psychological problems helps match clients to appropriate treatment, clinicians are cautioned to proceed carefully. ”—failed to distinguish between people with alcohol dependency disorders in treatment and people who drank in the community. Using the culturagram tool on the next page in preparation for counseling, treatment planning, or clinical supervision, clinicians can learn about the unique attributes and histories that influence clients‘ lives in a cultural context. Although counselor interactions with family members are often limited to a few formal sessions, the families of racially and ethnically diverse clients tend to play a more significant and influential role in clients‘ participation in treatment.
Supporting information
The objective of this study was to describe and compare psychosocial indicators and mental health service use among ethnoculturally-diverse Ontarians. This research initiative brought together over 45 diverse university and community partners in the Toronto and Waterloo regions of Ontario, Canada, including interdisciplinary academics, ethno-cultural community groups, and leading practitioners (from mental health and settlement sectors). Systematic attention to culture in the provision of mental health services can improve access, utilization and health outcomes. Indigenous peoples, immigrants and refugees and racialized groups, as well as some long-established ethnic, linguistic, cultural and religious communities, experience inequities in mental health in Canadian society.
The outcomes domain captured whether participants who received a CHW-delivered intervention experienced statistically significant and greater improvements in any mental health outcomes compared to participants who received a control intervention, and was only coded for studies with a randomized trial design. Specifically, a recent systematic review of 25 CHW-delivered intervention studies in the United States found that 76% of the included studies, including randomized controlled trials, reported improved mental health outcomes for U.S. For instance, literature has demonstrated that Latine individuals prefer to first seek mental health support from informal sources within their communities (e.g., CHWs, friends, religious leaders) rather than formal services from licensed mental health providers . For U.S. Latine communities, CHWs may be especially effective in addressing mental health needs because of their “social proximity” or their shared life experiences and cultural background with the community served . CHWs, also known as lay paraprofessionals, promotores de salud, and natural helpers, are trusted members of a community who serve as frontline public health workers to bridge gaps between their own communities and the healthcare system . Incorporating community health workers (CHWs) into the provision of mental health interventions offers a promising avenue to address disparities in access and workforce shortages.