Issues of cultural competence in mental health care

Abstract

As the United States' population continues to grow in its diversity, health care providers, including pharmacists, need to be able to provide culturally competent care to their patients. Cultural competence allows patients to feel comfortable with their provider and leads to their continuing to seek out care. Mental health is one of the most underused services in health care, particularly in underrepresented minority communities. This review looks at different published literature that assessed the reasons why individuals from minority communities may avoid seeking mental health care, cultural competence in psychiatric care for underrepresented minority communities, strategies for implementation for training providers in cultural competency, and barriers to implementation in mental health services. Current ideas include providing cultural competency training to students in their respective professional school or residency, incorporating the cultural formulation interview into psychiatric sessions, or increasing minority representation in the psychiatric services. On the basis of the literature examined, research is still needed to identify the best approach to improve culturally competent care in psychiatric services in the United States.