Towards culturally competent practice in child and adolescent mental health

Abstract

English The mental health needs of refugee and asylum-seeking children and adolescents are failing to be addressed. This article evaluates evidence from studies designed to address this omission, and describes a contemporary culturally competent model based on holistic, psycho-social principles of social work practice. French Les besoins en santé mentale des enfants et adolescents réfugiés et demandeurs d'asile ne sont pas pris en compte. A partir d'études examinant ces omissions, le présent article en évalue l'évidence et commence à décrire un modèle de pratique sociale contemporain culturellement compétent fondé sur des principes psychosociaux holistiques. Spanish Las necesidades de salud mental de los niños y adolescentes que buscan refugio y asilo están siendo dejadas de lado. Este artículo evalúa las evidencias de estudios diseñados para salvar esta omisión, y empieza describiendo un modelo competente y contemporáneo basado en principios psicosociales holísticos de la práctica del trabajo social.

Exploring How Young People Living in Foster Care Discuss Spiritually Sensitive Themes in a Holistic Arts-Based Group Program

“…In fact, one of the recommendations for practice and policy that emerged from a study of young people's viewpoints about spirituality was to purposefully inquire about spirituality, religion, and culture, as spirituality can be an essential part of identity and cultural legacy (Jackson et al, 2010). Other researchers found that spirituality can be a critical component of a child's well-being (Walker, 2005), and young people living in foster care derived strength and support from their spiritual beliefs, practices, and communities (Jackson et al, 2010). Thus, Downloaded by [Heriot-Watt University] at 18:34 27 December 2014 social workers should be encouraged to work from a holistic approach in order to help children better understand themselves and to explore their viewpoints, and to teach them skills such as mindfulness that can help them develop their resilience so that they can cope more effectively with life's challenges and problems.…”

Filhos das fronteiras: revisão de literatura sobre imigração involuntária, infância e saúde mental

“…Quanto as possibilidades interventivas ante as crianças imigrantes involuntárias, percebe-se uma sensibilização dos artigos para a atenção às especificidades culturais na atuação prática (Masaud, McNicholas, & Skokauskas, 2010;Pumariega, Rogers, & Rothe, 2005;Walker, 2005). Reflete-se que o local de origem daquele que adoece fornece dados sobre as características da saúde da população da região, mas, acima de tudo, as informações culturais poderão traduzir as interpretações, explicações e padrões de enfrentamento daquela população diante da doença (Skokauskas & Clarke, 2009).…”

Cultural relevance as program‐to‐community alignment

“…Literature across service sectors abounds with advice on creating culturally competent interventions; these articles have appeared in journals in the fields of child welfare (e.g., Mederos & Woldeguiorguis, 2003), mental health (e.g., Walker, 2005), substance abuse treatment (e.g., Castro & Garfunkle, 2003), and health care and promotion (e.g., Kreuter, Lukwago, Bucholtz, Clark, & Sanders-Thompson, 2003;Vinh-Thomas, Bunch, & Card, 2003). Such calls for cultural sensitivity are based on documented ethnic and racial disparities in health status, health care access, and education, and the often-conflicting beliefs espoused by service providers and those receiving services (Shin, 2004).…”

“…Some suggest, for example, that a cultural match between service providers and recipients is among the critical aspects (Edens, 1997;Sue, Fujino, Hu, Tekeuchi, & Zane, 1991;Torralba-Romero, 1998;Zulli & Frierson, 2004). Others call for awareness of cultural differences and sensitivity to how those differences affect service delivery and utilization (Mederos & Woldguiorguis, 2003;Sylva, 2005;Walker, 2005). Still others argue that cultural competence goes beyond awareness or sensitivity and is characterized instead by ''a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system, agency, or among professionals that enables that system, agency, or those professionals to work effectively in cross cultural situations'' (Cross et al, 1989, p. 13).…”