Cultural and Linguistic Issues Impacting Psychological Assessment

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) has a number of features. First of all, every disorder is identified using a name and a numerical code. In addition, the manual provides the criteria for diagnosing each disorder as well as establishes subtypes of a disorder and examples that would illustrate the disorder. The manual goes further by addressing the typical age of onset, culturally related information, gender-related information, prevalence of a disorder, typical clinical course of a disorder, typical predisposing factors of a disorder and genetic family patterns of a disease (Summers, 2009). The DSM-IV is a tool that is used by mental health practitioners and social service workers. As has been demonstrated

Cultural diversity and other therapies to practice such as the amalgamation of complementary and alternative medicine was the core learning purpose of this unit. Equipped with the awareness and understanding of this information, the clinician provides care by placing emphasizes on the holistic individual by evaluating the environment, psychosocial and lifestyle influences. As a result, the integration of a comprehensive cultural assessment is essential in all facet of mental health and mental illness. Therefore, the clinician must examine his/her personal beliefs about cultures in order to be proficient in providing care to individuals in a culturally diverse world.

Mental and behavioral health agencies who service American Indians should employ a culturally relevant approach. Cultural-specificity is essential for understanding beliefs, values, and first language colloquial speech. Cultural-specific assessment information can enhance our understanding of the client’s symptoms and the need for other appropriate evaluation techniques. Client assessment practice within Indian Health Services (IHS) supports multi-culturalism, cultural competence, and sets the precedence for Tribal agencies to follow. Most Tribal Health agencies do follow IHS guidelines. However, most of those

When looking at the issues modern day Native Americans face regarding mental health counseling it is important to look at history and how the past has shaped

There are a myriad of considerations when a clinician enters into a new and unfamiliar environment. The diagnosis, assessment and treatment process potentially will present a new and unique opportunity for growth. Diagnosis of an individual will change based on the core values and philosophies of the individual. Some cultures may focus on the physical manifestation of mental illness instead of identifying to underlying psychological problem sets. During assessments, individual may require a unique approach that is unfamiliar to the clinician. Furthermore, treatment may require further specialization to positively affect the patient.

Brown, T. N., Donato, K. M., Laske, M. T., & Duncan, E. M. (2012). Race, Nativity, Ethnicity, and Cultural Influences in the Sociology of Mental Health. Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research Handbook of the Sociology of Mental Health, 255-276.

Culture is an important factor that should be considered in today’s market. In fact, many adult Americans are starting to embrace cultural diversity. Culture helps in shaping one’s perspective on the world including his

Culture may be defined in a broad and narrow context. The broad definition includes demographic variables ( age, gender), status variables ( social, educational, economic) and affiliations ( formal and informal), as well as ethnographic variables, such as ethnicity, nationality, language. Narrow definition of culture is limited to the terms of ethnicity and nationality, which are important for individual and familial identity, but the concept of culture in Counselling usually goes beyond national and ethnic boundaries. It interprets culture in a broader aspect, it aims to go beyond its more obvious and verifiable symbols toward the more subjective perspectives its members hold. Counselling deals

The attitude, values, ideals and beliefs of individuals are greatly influenced by the culture in which they live. Precisely, culture is the sum total of the ways of life of people in a particular society.

For the purposes of this piece, culture is defined as “the full range of human patterned experience” as described by Cole (1996) cited in Gla ̆veanu & Jovchelovitch (2017, p.113). This chapter also provides a description of the importance culture plays in psychological research.

The symptoms of mental disorders are found in all nations and in all cultures; there are recognizable symptoms that are common worldwide. Mental health researchers have not yet been able to determine whether culture bound syndromes are indicative of one or more possibilities that include distinct disorders that exist only in specific cultures, and reflect different ways in which individuals from different cultures express mental illness, as well as reflecting different ways in which the social and cultural environment interact with genes to produce disorders, or any combination of these. (pp. 101)

As a baby we aren’t born with culture. The people who are responsible for our socialization are our parents and others who we might associate with…teachers, friends, etc. As a very small child we learn about the culture we were born in as well as our gender roles. Depending on some cultures women for example are taught that they will be homemakers and do a large share of work. In my culture I learned my future role which would be a daughter, friend, sister, a wife in the future possibly, and then maybe a mother. This is also the time we learn what society expects of us; the norms per say. This is also the time in our lives that our personality forms. While our personality has much to do with our upbringing and genes it also is created by the culture we are in. “Research in geographical sciences has shown regional variation on a number of indicators—including public

Cultural psychology is a field in psychology that assumes that the idea that culture and mind are inseparable and that psychological theories in one culture are likely to be limited in applicability when applied to different cultures.

Cross-cultural psychology and cultural psychology both study the effects of cultural norms on human psychology, as well as patterns of thinking, feelings, and actions that they display whereas cross-cultural psychology identifies the similarities and dissimilarities

If people think differently it makes sense that different illnesses may also manifest differently. By learning about culture, and being aware of its effects on psychopathology, we have much to gain.