Main description:

Long considered important for professionals working with minority and under-represented populations, cross-cultural competency has become a requisite for all health care providers. As society in the US increasingly diversifies, there is a crucial need to prepare health care professionals to effectively treat this changing population. The Massachusetts General Hospital Textbook on Diversity and Cultural Sensitivity in Mental Health addresses the importance and relevance of cultural sensitivity in US mental health. Prominent researchers and clinicians examine the cultural and cross-cultural mental health issues of Native American, Latino, Asian, African American, Middle Eastern, Refugee and LGBQT communities. The discussion includes understanding the complexities in making mental health diagnoses and the various meanings it has for the socio-cultural group described, as well as biopsychosocial treatment options and challenges. In understanding the specific populations, the analysis delves into overarching concepts that may apply to specific populations and to those at the intersection of multiple cultures.

An invaluable resource for mental health professionals, including clinicians, researchers, educators, leaders and advocates in the United States, The Massachusetts General Hospital Textbook on Diversity and Cultural Sensitivity in Mental Health provides the necessary understanding and insights for research and clinical practice in specific cultural and multicultural groups.

Contents:

Section 1: Specific Populations

1. Mental Health of Arab Americans: Cultural Considerations for Excellence of Care

Imad Melhem and Zeina Chemali

2. Identification and Approach to Treatment of Mental Health Disorders in South Asian American Populations

Shirin Ali

3. Cultural Sensitivity: What Should We Understand about Latinos?

Aida L. Jimenez, Margarita Alegria, Richard F. Camino-Gaztambide, and Lazaro V. Zayas

4. Not by Convention: Working With People on the Sexual and Gender Continuum

Karen Ron-Li Liaw and Aron Janssen

5. American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Perspectives

Joseph E. Trimble, Jeff King, Teresa D. LaFromboise, Delores Subia BigFoot, and Dennis Norman

6. Psychiatry for People of African Descent in the USA

Carl Bell and Dominica F. McBride

7. Understanding the Mental Health of Refugees: Trauma, Stress and the Cultural Context

B. Heidi Ellis, Kate Murray, and Colleen Barrett

Section II: Innovative Ways to Understand Diversity

8. Diversity Dialogue: An Innovative Model for Diversity Training

Estee Sharon, Anne Emmerich, and Ranna Parekh

9. The Engagement Interview Protocol (EIP): Improving the Acceptance of Mental Health Treatment among Culturally Diverse Populations

Albert Yeung, Nhi-Ha Trinh, and Trina Chang

10. Cultural and Diversity Issues in Mediation and Negotiation

David A. Hoffman and Katherine Triantafillou

11. Providing Medical Care to Diverse Populations

Deborah Washington and Robert Doyle

12. Cultivating Courage, Compassion, and Cultural Sensitivity in News Reporting of Mental Health

Linda R. Ocasio and Karen Weintraub

Appendix - "Short" by Nikita Nautiyal

Glossary - Phillip J. Small