We'd like to offer you some "quick guide" materials in an attempt to summarize some of our past trainings' content and would really appreciate your feedback. What do I have to do in order to become culturally competent? Where do I start? While there is no recipe, we are hereby offering some of our expert's opinions.
By no means do we suggest that generalization is acceptable, there are just some tips for those of you, who did not get a chance to attend trainings on particular cultures and need a few useful clues to boost the self-educational process.
Our experts are clinicians and advocates and I hope you all join me in expressing gratitude to them for sharing their knowledge and personal experience about various cultures and helping us to do our very best working with our clients from diverse communities.
Please do not hesitate to let us know if you have questions, concerns, dilemmas or just need more information. We are launching a new interactive feature on our website, that will give you a chance to talk to us. Please visit the website frequently for updated information, resources and the discussion board.
Sincerely,
Sophia Rossovsky
Director of the Culturally Competent Mental Health Training Center
Northern Region
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» Hispanics by Henry Acosta, MA, MSW, LSW
» South Asians in America by Anita McLean, Psy.D., Ph.D.
» South Asian Indians by Sarah
Gogel
» Soviet Immigrants
by Rita Friedman, MSW, LSW, LCSW
Language Access Services
The National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy at the Migration Policy Institute has now posted a growing database of materials from jurisdictions around the country.
The Language Portal is a digital library of close to 600 resources relating to the use of language access services in social serivces and public safety agencies. The Portal includes legal guidelines, service models, master contracts for service providers, hourly translation and interpretation rates for different languages in key areas of the United States, pay differentials for mutilingual staff, and sample translated documents.
This project is funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, headquatered in Baltimore, MD.
World Wide Mental Illness Awareness Week
This site is here for people living with mental illness—and their friends. You'll find tools to help in the recovery process, and you can also learn about the different kinds of mental illnesses, read real-life stories about support and recovery, and interact with the video to see how friends can make all the difference.
NSW Multicultural Health Communication Service
This link is from the UK, referral information will not apply. However, there is useful information about working with various ethnicities and cultures.
Monthly Overseas Cultural Orientation Program Highlight
The program currently featured is the one in Kibondo, Tanzania, providing orientation to the "1972 Burundians." This highlight, which includes both information on the program and a slideshow with images from the field, is based on contributions from the CO Coordinator in Kibondo, Ann Strandoo, and Shana Wills of Heartland Alliance in Chicago, who visited Kibondo during her participation in the FY07 Cultural Orientation Trainers' Exchange. Please check back for future highlights, which will at times be group-specific and, at other times, location-specific, depending on the caseload in a particular location and the interest of service providers in a particular group.
Cultural Orientation Trainers' Exchange
Reports and slideshows from the six FY07 participants are posted there, as well as an Executive Summary of the participants' findings and recommendations to improve CO provision within the U.S. Sites visited in FY07 include Accra, Kibondo, Nairobi, Bangkok, Mae La, Kuala Lumpur, Istanbul/Kayseri, Vienna, and Moscow. Reports from the FY06 exchange, addressing visits to Accra, Cotonou (Benin), Cairo, Nairobi, Kakuma, Tham Hin, Vienna, and Moscow, are also posted on the site.
US Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration
Cultural Competence Resources for Health Professionals
Resources include:
Cultural Competence Assessment Tools
Working with various populations, including African Americans, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, Hispanic/Latino/Spanish, Special Populations including children, GLBT, Homeless and Geriatric populations.
SAMHSA Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Cultural Competence Standards in Managed Care Mental Health Services: Four Underserved/Underrepresented Racial/Ethnic Groups is designed to provide readers with the tools and knowledge to help guide the provision of culturally competent mental health services within today's managed care environment. While not necessarily representing the specific views of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration or the Center for Mental Health Services, this document melds the best thinking of expert panels of consumers, mental health service providers, and academic clinicians from across the four core racial/ethnic populations: Hispanics, American Indians/Alaska Natives, African Americans, and Asian/Pacific Islanders.* Developed for States, consumers, mental health service providers, educators, and organizations providing managed behavioral health care, the volume provides state-of-the-science cultural competence principles and standards - building blocks to create, implement and maintain culturally competent mental health service networks for our diverse population.
Georgetown University National Center for Cultural Competence
The mission of the National Center for Cultural Competence (NCCC) is to increase the capacity of health and mental health programs to design, implement, and evaluate culturally and linguistically competent service delivery systems. This is an excellent resource with good information and links to other relevant resources.
An example of a great self-assessment tool on this website is:
Self-Assessment Checklist for Personnel Providing Behavioral Health Services
to Children, Youth and their Families (pdf).
US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Surgeon General
Report
Mental Health: Culture, Race, Ethnicity
Supplement to Mental Health: Report of the Surgeon General
The Office of Minority Health, US Department of Health and Human Services
Cultural Competence
This is a website through the US Department of Health and Human Services;, Office of Minority Health. The website lists the national standards on Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) for health care organizations. It is a comprehensive list of the standards, and provides links to the reports and research.
Child Welfare and Protection, Cultural Competence Resources and Information
US Department of Health and Human Services, The Children's Bureau, Administration
for Children and Families
Resources to help workers, agencies, and systems better understand and enhance their cultural competence. This site includes information on working with children, youth, and families; disproportional representation of minority groups in the child welfare system; culturally competent services; training for child welfare staff; and the specific role of cultural competence in child maltreatment, out-of-home care, and adoption.
American Medical Student Association
This resource discusses cultural competency in the practice of medicine. Discussed is what it means to be culturally competent, along with the goals of providing culturally competent care. Case studies are provided with related questions and cultural assessments are explained. This site provides useful information but seems to be geared towards medical students and physicians.
Child Welfare and Protection
Child Welfare Information Gateway, a service of the Children's Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services provides resources on cultural competence issues in providing mental health services. Resources are provided which highlight cultural competence in children’s mental health. Articles discuss the needed emphasis on cultural competence and the need to design interventions appropriate for families and children from different cultural groups. Also addressed is the importance of consumer perspectives in the assessment of cultural competence. In addition, an instrument (Client Cultural Competence Inventory) designed to measure cultural competence was discussed. A study was also provided which investigated the cultural appropriateness of mental health services provided to children with emotional and behavioral disabilities. Also, examined are cultural attitudes toward infant mental health, children's mental health outcomes among African-American families.
Diversity RX
The objective of Diversity RX is to promote cultural competence and to improve health care for the ethnically diverse. Diversity RX is a clearing house which provides information to meet the needs of the ethnically diverse seeking health care. Legal issues and policies are outlined.
Diversity RX: Conference
This link provides information regarding the National Conference on Quality Health Care for Culturally Diverse Populations being held in Seattle this October. The conference allows for debate and learning among cultural competent experts.
National Association of School Psychologists
The article provides school psychologists and school personnel with effective methods to be culturally sensitive with regard to consultation. A thorough step by step process is outlined which explains how school psychologists can provide culturally competent consultations.
Mental Health America (formerly National Mental Health Association)
This article was detailed and clearly stated focusing on cultural competency in mental health systems. The NMHA outlines precisely what mental health systems serving diverse populations need to incorporate in order to improve their cultural sensitivity.
SAMSHA Mental Health Information Center
This lengthy article discusses cultural competence standards in managed mental health care. Standards are provided to help guide the provision of culturally competent mental health services in managed care. The goal is to improve the quality of care for racial/ethnic groups.
National Network of Libraries of Medicine Consumer Health Information in Many Languages Resources, includes some mental health information.
Arabic
Depression Brochure in Arabic (pdf)
Although this was developed by the University of Michigan for Michigan, the content is useful. English translation
Depression Facts in Arabic (pdf). English translation (pdf)
Chinese
Chinese Language Mental Health Materials
Spanish
Spanish Language Mental Health Materials