Technical Assistance Partnership for Child and Family Mental Health

MARCH2002

Do racial, ethnic, gender, and cultural biases affect diagnostic assessments and clinical interventions?

Numerous studies have documented that racial/ethnic, gender, cultural, and sexual orientation biases can influence clinical judgment about the severity, cause, and best interventions for a client's symptoms. There is often a tendency to minimize the impact of these factors on symptom expression; ascribe all psychology to prejudice and discrimination; and/or to overpathologize minority children and families (See Children of Color: Psychological Interventions with Culturally Diverse Youth edited Jewelle Taylor Gibbs, Larke Nuhme Huang and Associates). Thus, clinical interventions, which hopefully are determined by the assessment process, are often inappropriate and less effective.

Ongoing training that focuses on the development and implementation of best practices and culturally appropriate and gender, racial/ethnic, and sexual orientation sensitive assessment tools and clinical interventions can significantly improve outcomes.

In addition to (1) Children of Color, other good books on this topic are (2) Minority Children and Adolescents in Therapy by Man Keung HO; (3) Lesbian and Gay Youth: Care and Counseling by Caitlin Ryan and Donna Freeman; (4) Handbook of Psychotherapy with Children and Adolescents edited by Thomas R. Kratuchwill and Richard J. Morris; and (5) Handbook of Racial/Ethnic Minority Counseling Research by Joseph G. Ponterotto and J. Manuel Casas.

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	MARCH2002 Do racial, ethnic, gender, and cultural biases affect diagnostic assessments and clinical interventions? Numerous studies have documented that racial/ethnic, gender, cultural, and sexual orientation biases can influence clinical judgment about the severity, cause, and best interventions for a client's symptoms. There is often a tendency to minimize the impact of these factors on symptom expression; ascribe all psychology to prejudice and discrimination; and/or to overpathologize minority children and families (See Children of Color: Psychological Interventions with Culturally Diverse Youth edited Jewelle Taylor Gibbs, Larke Nuhme Huang and Associates). Thus, clinical interventions, which hopefully are determined by the assessment process, are often inappropriate and less effective. Ongoing training that focuses on the development and implementation of best practices and culturally appropriate and gender, racial/ethnic, and sexual orientation sensitive assessment tools and clinical interventions can significantly improve outcomes. In addition to (1) Children of Color, other good books on this topic are (2) Minority Children and Adolescents in Therapy by Man Keung HO; (3) Lesbian and Gay Youth: Care and Counseling by Caitlin Ryan and Donna Freeman; (4) Handbook of Psychotherapy with Children and Adolescents edited by Thomas R. Kratuchwill and Richard J. Morris; and (5) Handbook of Racial/Ethnic Minority Counseling Research by Joseph G. Ponterotto and J. Manuel Casas.

Mental Health and Systems of Care Frequently Asked Questions