Alcohol and other drug services that meet cultural competence standards are knowledgeable about the specific cultural and linguistic needs of the client. Building capacity for culturally and linguistically competent care often means learning the practices and beliefs of cultures with which we are not familiar.
Resources by Population:
Asian American Population Resources
Native American Population Resources
African American Population Resources
Latino/Hispanic/Chicano Population Resources
Scholarly Articles:
Health Equity & LGBT Elders of Color, Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE), April 2013
This brief explores 10 policy areas where health and wellness can be improved for LGBT older people of color (a population that encompasses multiple groups diverse across race, ethnicity, culture, language of origin and more), examining policy topics such as federal funding gaps, the ways in which health reform implementation can reach marginalized people, LGBT-specific barriers within programs such as Social Security, and much more.
Cultural competence and evidence-based practice in mental health services: A complementary perspective (PDF)
The article illustrates the complementary nature of the need for cultural competence and the need for evidence-based practice in mental health services, and discusses the implications for cultural adaptations of empirically supported mental health services with racial/ethnic minorities.
Cultural competency: Its impact on addiction, treatment and recovery
Developed by The Institute for Research, Education, and Training in Addictions (IRETA), this manual gives a general overview for practitioners on cultural competency, community healing, and communicating with specific populations such as LGBTQ, Native American, and Latino communities with an emphasis on the effects of historical trauma on these specific communities.
The Facts About Violence Against Historically Disadvantaged Persons
Racial/ethnic and sexual orientation minorities and women historically have been relegated to social, legal, and economic disadvantage in the United States. Such disadvantage is thought to be one of the underlying factors responsible for mental health disparities.1,2 One of the most alarming disparities is the prevalence of violent victimization (eg, black male teenagers are more than 5 times as likely to die because of guns as their white peers). Blacks in urban communities are much more likely to be murdered, assaulted, or raped than their white counterparts.3,4 We review how culture and disadvantage interact in particular forms of violent victimization. General recommendations are given for competent intervention, because the psychiatrist often is in the best position to gain access to multisystem interventions that can prevent further violence and address the sequelae of trauma.
