They consulted with a diverse immigrant patient population (e.g. family immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers) from established communities (e.g. Italian, Greek) to more recent arrivals (e.g. Afghanistan, Myanmar). Dynamic and interchanging, culture shapes the individual’s worldviews, experiences, and behaviors in relation to social interactions, religions, and environment . However, the concept of cultural competency has also been critiqued regarding its operationalisation in everyday practice. Limited access to interpreters and organisational apathy remain barriers to promoting cultural competency whereas organisational support, personal motivation, and professional resilience remain critical facilitators to sustaining cultural https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ps.202100519 competency in everyday practice.

Providing culturally competent care is essential for patient engagement, safety, and adherence to treatment plans. Cultural competence expands cultural knowledge and improves cross cultural relations, helping providers adapt services to meet the unique backgrounds of diverse patients. In an era when mental health needs are rising and patient populations are more diverse than ever, cultural competence is no longer optional—it is essential. Ensure that ethnically and culturally diverse patients, carers and their chosen support networks are actively involved in the design, development and review of care pathways across all ages. Partnerships with community organizations, cultural leaders, and patient advocacy groups help healthcare systems tailor services to the needs of local populations. When providers lack cultural awareness, they may misinterpret symptoms, overlook cultural influences on mental health, or use treatment methods that are not aligned with the patient’s cultural beliefs or values.

• Interpreter services and bilingual providers are essential, but so is the ability to “read between the lines” of culturally influenced expressions of distress.
• The limits of patient enlistment appeared with respecting patient wishes.
• The use of quality assurance and utilization management procedures throughout medicine since the 1990s has linked good clinical treatment to long-term cost controls as person-centered care has transitioned to population-based algorithms (Donald 2001).
• CMI (also referred to as “Cambridge Management Insights”) does not provide services to clients.

Co-produce culturally competent care plans

Training methods were also similar including lectures, discussion, experiential, and self-reflective activities (e.g., discussion of clinical cases, role-play, journaling) (Benuto et al., 2018; Bhui et al., 2007) with additional approaches such as cultural immersion activities and contact with individuals with diverse identities mentioned in Benuto and colleagues’ recent review. This, in turn, leads to better treatment adherence, improved symptom management, and increased overall well-being for individuals from diverse cultural communities. Why is cultural competency essential for mental health professionals?

Continuing Professional Development Regarding CC for Faculty and Practitioners

Clients in minority groups were also not getting their needs met in mental health treatment (2, 3). Persons in racial and ethnic minority groups were found to receive lower-quality health care than whites received, even when they were insured to the same degree and when other health care access-related factors, such as the ability to pay for care, were the same (1). The collaboration between the overarching mental health system and individual therapists is vital. While cultural competence sounds good on paper, there’s plenty of work ahead.

) Cultural Competency Training

This study was conducted in Victoria, the most culturally diverse state in Australia, which in turn is one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world; approximately 27% of the Australian population were born overseas and a further 43% have at least one parent born overseas . Rather, the foci has been procedural – i.e. the challenges of working with immigrant patients, whether in general practice 35,36,37 or specialist care 38,39,40. Difficulties around defining culture also extend to complicating understandings around cultural competency.