In America's increasingly diverse society, it is imperative that mental health providers prioritize the development of their cultural competence to assure that they are equipped to meet the needs of their clients. Cultural Considerations in Latino American Mental Health offers a broad array of perspectives from clinicians and researchers actively working with racially and ethnically diverse populations. This book addresses psychosocial cultural issues that impact the mental health of the growing Latino American population. Topics discussed include relevant socio-demographic variables for Latinos and the implications of the steadily increasing Latino population in the United States; cultural values, acculturation, and acculturative stress in the lives of Latino adolescents; culturally responsive intervention of depression in Latino adolescents; depression across the lifespan; and cultural factors in the development of substance abuse issues in the Latino adolescent population. This book is a must-read for mental health clinicians, students, community workers, school counselors, and nurses who work with diverse populations.

Advancing work to effectively study, understand, and serve the fastest growing U.S. ethnic minority population, this volume explicitly emphasizes the racial and ethnic diversity within this heterogeneous cultural group. The focus is on the complex historical roots of contemporary Latino/as, their diversity in skin-color and physiognomy, racial identity, ethnic identity, gender differences, immigration patterns, and acculturation. The work highlights how the complexities inherent in the diverse Latino/a experience, as specified throughout the topics covered in this volume, become critical elements of culturally responsive and racially conscious mental health treatment approaches. By addressing the complexities, within-group differences, and racially heterogeneity characteristic of U.S. Latino/as, this volume makes a significant contribution to the literature related to mental health treatments and interventions.

Spirit, mind, and heart—in traditional Mexican health beliefs all three are inherent to maintaining psychological balance. For Mexican Americans, who are both the oldest Latina/o group in the United States as well as some of the most recent arrivals, perceptions of health and illness often reflect a dual belief system that has not always been incorporated in mental health treatments. Chicana and Chicano Mental Health offers a model to understand and to address the mental health challenges and service disparities affecting Mexican immigrants and Mexican Americans/Chicanos. Yvette G. Flores, who has more than thirty years of experience as a clinical psychologist, provides in-depth analysis of the major mental health challenges facing these groups: depression; anxiety disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder; substance abuse; and intimate partner violence. Using a life-cycle perspective that incorporates indigenous health beliefs, Flores examines the mental health issues affecting children and adolescents, adult men and women, and elderly Mexican Americans. Through case studies, Flores examines the importance of understanding cultural values, class position, and the gender and sexual roles and expectations Chicanas/os negotiate, as well as the legacies of migration, transculturation, and multiculturality. Chicana and Chicano Mental Health is the first book of its kind to embrace both Western and Indigenous perspectives. Ideally suited for students in psychology, social welfare, ethnic studies, and sociology, the book also provides valuable information for mental health professionals who desire a deeper understanding of the needs and strengths of the largest ethnic minority and Hispanic population group in the United States.

Latinos are the fastest growing and largest minority group in the United States. In 2008, this group numbered over 47 million; by 2050, the population is expected to triple, reaching 133 million. Traditionally, Latinos have immigrated to large urban centers (e.g., New York, Los Angeles) that over long periods of time developed a complex infrastructure to receive new immigrants. Increasingly, new Spanish-speaking immigrants are moving into areas of the country previously unfamiliar to them. Although urban co-ethnic communities continue to be the destination of many newcomers, immigrants from Mexico, Central America, and South America in pursuit of low-skilled labor opportunities are settling in small towns and rural areas of the South and Midwest. This new demographic trend has resulted in the creation of the term "new growth communities," which refers to small rural areas that are now home to a small but rapidly growing Hispanic population. Unfortunately, these communities, which are now present in many states across the country (e.g., Illinois, North Carolina), lack the infrastructure necessary to meet the needs of Latino immigrants (e.g., access to health care, immigration assistance, and breaking down language barriers). The lack of an infrastructure and the lack of an established ethnic community to facilitate the assimilation of new immigrants present an ongoing challenge, especially in the area of Latino mental health. The volume focuses on dealing with systemic issues and on providing innovative ideas for development of infrastructure of services. This text will advance ways to understand and ameliorate mental health disparities both from research and experiential perspectives.

This chapter provides an overview of research on the mental health of Latinos in the United States with emphasis on the cultural constructs and theories with relevance for assessment and intervention with this population. A distinction is made between factors that confer advantages and those that may increase vulnerability at both the individual and environmental levels. This chapter suggests that treatment considerations need to be tailored based on individual needs that incorporate complexities of culture and gender so that clients are not viewed in a stereotypical manner. This discussion is followed by a summary of contemporary research rooted in positive and resilience psychology in order to build on strengths within the culture, such as positive ethnic identity, civic engagement, family support, bicultural teaching in the home, spirituality, and storytelling.

The American Latino: Psychodynamic Perspectives on Culture and Mental Health Issues focuses on the culture of the Hispanic population in the United States and replaces stereotypes with portrayals based on factual information. The scope of the material covered is vast and includes the topics of ethnic identity, gender roles, religion and spirituality, family resilience, and the joys and sufferings of leading a bicultural life. Opening with a thorough survey of Latin-American immigration to the United States and closing with an illustration-rich discourse on being a Hispanic-American psychotherapist in this country, the contributors examines with both normative and psychopathological realms. Help-seeking patterns, vulnerability of some Hispanic youth to drugs and gang-related affiliations, and the fine technical adjustments in conducting psychotherapy with individuals of this growing subpopulation are elucidated with great compassion and empathy. The American Latino is a shining document of the coexistence of universal similarity and cultural uniqueness of the human psyche. Reading it will enhance knowledge, enrich attunement, and sharpen therapeutic skills for working with Latin American clients.