The Latino Psychiatric Patient

Constituting nearly 12 percent of the US population, Latinos (a term used interchangeably with the term Hispanic throughout the text) are expected to become the second-largest race ethnic group (after non-Hispanic whites) by 2010. This growth emphasizes the increasing importance of understanding the cultural factors affecting the psychiatric treatment of Latino patients. Integrating culture-specific treatments, such as the services of a folk healer (called a santero in Cuba and a curandero in Mexico), with more traditional interventions, such as medication and case management services, is crucial to achieving successful outcomes for Latino patients. This unique book helps mental health professionals acquire the knowledge, skills, and -- most important -- the cultural sensitivity necessary for treating Latino patients in the United States. The book can aid clinicians in learning to appreciate the importance of language, culture, religion, gender, sexual orientation, race, and ethnicity in psychiatric evaluation and care. The editors of this insightful, wide-ranging text have structured the work of 20 distinguished contributors into three major sections: Section I, Overview, presents an overview and brief history of Latinos in the United States, including demographic data and statistics on their physical and mental health. Variables include language, religion, geographical origin, class, race, degree of acculturation, gender, education, and sexual orientation. Of particular interest here is practical guidance on conducting culturally sensitive psychiatric evaluations of Latino patients. Section II, Individual Countries, highlights the fascinating differences among the major Latino subgroups in the US, including Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, and Puerto Rico, and details their distinct characteristics (from cuisine, music, and literature to dialects and traditions) so that clinicians may better understand these patients and incorporate this knowledge into their practices. Section III, Special Issues, discusses today's the pressing realities of Latino life in the United States -- such as socioeconomic status, the gender roles of machismo (qualities of the strong, powerful, active man) and marianismo (the qualities of the submissive, obedient woman), and cultural ideals such as familismo (strong loyalty and duty to family) -- and how these factors affect treatment. Discussions span women's issues, substance abuse, and violence in Latino populations. Of broad interest to students, residents, and practicing clinicians, this informative volume adds a singularly valuable tool needed to understand, evaluate, and treat Latino patients by viewing their original culture and belief system as integral parts of who they are.

This unique book helps mental health professionals acquire the knowledge, skills, and--most important--the cultural sensitivity necessary for integrating culture-specific treatments (e.g., folk-healing methods) with more traditional interventions (e.g., medication and case management) to achieve successful outcomes for Latino patients.

In Medicalizing Ethnicity, Vilma Santiago-Irizarry shows how commendable intentions can produce unintended consequences. Santiago-Irizarry conducted ethnographic fieldwork in three bilingual, bicultural psychiatric programs for Latino patients at public mental health facilities in New York City. The introduction of "cultural sensitivity" in mental health clinics, she concludes, led doctors to construct essentialized, composite versions of Latino ethnicity in their drive to treat mental illness with sensitivity. The author demonstrates that stressing Latino differences when dealing with patients resulted not in empowerment, as intended, but in the reassertion of Anglo-American standards of behavior in the guise of psychiatric categories by which Latino culture was negatively defined. For instance, doctors routinely translated their patients' beliefs in the Latino religious traditions of espiritismo and Santería into psychiatric terms, thus treating these beliefs as pathologies.Interpreting mental health care through the framework of culture and politics has potent effects on the understanding of "normality" toward which such care aspires. At the core of Medicalizing Ethnicity is the very definition of multiculturalism used by a variety of institutional settings in an attempt to mandate equality.

Understand the unique needs, beliefs, and values of your Latino immigrant clients! Brief Psychotherapy with the Latino Immigrant Client is a manual for the practicing psychotherapist or student, with tips on the assessment process and suggested interventions that work efficiently. With this book you will explore the influence of medical anthropological concepts on Latino immigrant populations in North America. The author draws on her experience as both a medical anthropologist and a licensed psychotherapist and on her extensive fieldwork in the Amazon for help in developing psychosociocultural assessments of Spanish-speaking migrants. This valuable book examines which kinds of therapy work for the growing Latino immigrant population and looks at metaphors (dichos) that can be used to help in brief interventions for clinical issues. In relation to the specific beliefs, values, and sentiments of these clients, Brief Psychotherapy with the Latino Immigrant Client presents: hypnosis techniques that work with this population behavior modification and cognitive restructuring techniques specific culturally appropriate metaphors for distinctive clinical issues an examination of alcohol issues in this population psychological issues that go along with tuberculosis hints for the non-Latino therapist who deals with Latino clients case studies that illustrate the book's principles of care and assessment shamanic techniques of healing that can provide a model for treating these clients Brief Psychotherapy with the Latino Immigrant Client includes a glossary of Spanish terms, appendixes on hypnotic pain control inductions, sample tests, scales and diagrams, several case studies, and listings of Spanish language resources. Every therapist who treats Latino immigrants should own this book!

This volume presents cutting-edge work in cross-cultural psychiatry by an international group of clinicians, researchers, and leaders in mental health policy. The book grew out of a recent lecture series at the Massachusetts General Hospital and features contributions from diverse fields including psychiatry, psychology, anthropology, social work, social medicine, and public policy. The first section highlights the implications of biological and cultural diversity for psychiatric diagnosis and treatment. Subsequent sections focus on psychotherapy in cross-cultural contexts and international mental health policy. Chapters examine a variety of patient populations, including Asian, African, and Hispanic Americans and populations in Europe and developing countries.