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Cultural Considerations in School Psychopharmacology

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School Psychopharmacology

Part of the book series: Pediatric School Psychology ((PSP))

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Abstract

Mental health providers who use multimodal treatment approaches that combine both psychosocial and psychopharmacological treatments should take into consideration sociocultural factors when addressing mental health disparities. This chapter highlights the sociocultural context of the child and family when developing treatment plans that involve psychopharmacological intervention. First, we provide an overview of notable sociocultural factors that should be considered when working with ethnic minority and/or immigrant children and families. Second, we include a brief primer on cultural psychiatry and the integration of clinical services with school support. Lastly, we discuss recommendations for school personnel when providing mental health services to diverse children and families, with a focus on psychopharmacological treatment for children. A set of references and web-based materials are provided to readers for additional information.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA

    Anisa N. Goforth & Olivia G. Holter

  2. Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA

    Andy V. Pham

Authors
  1. Anisa N. Goforth
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  2. Andy V. Pham
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  3. Olivia G. Holter
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anisa N. Goforth .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School Psychology Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

    John S. Carlson

  2. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Ohio State University—Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, USA

    Justin A. Barterian

Appendices

List of Readings

  • Jones, J. (2014). Best practices in providing culturally responsive interventions. In P. L. Harrison & A. Thomas (Eds.), Best practices in school psychology (pp. 49–60). Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.

    • This chapter provides a brief overview of best practice in school-based culturally-responsive interventions for children from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Additionally, this author asks the reader to question how to adapt practices to be culturally-responsive.

  • Lewis-Fernández, R., Aggarwal, N. K., Hinton, L., Hinton, D. E., In Kirmayer, L. J., & American Psychiatric Association (Eds.). (2015). DSM-5 handbook on the cultural formulation interview.

    • The Cultural Formation Interview (CFI) is an interview aimed to give clinicians an introduction to the cultural background of their clients. This tool can help clinicians pinpoint important cultural factors in order to best help their clients.

  • Lin, K. (2010). Cultural and ethnic issues in psychopharmacology. Psychiatric Times. Retrieved from http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/articles/cultural-and-ethnic-issues-psychopharmacology

    • This article considers the differences in effects of psychotropic medications across cultures. Additionally, this article describes how medical providers should take in considering a person’s ethnic background in treating behavioral health conditions with medications.

List of Websites

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC Health Disparities & Inequalities Report (CHDIR). https://www.cdc.gov/minorityhealth/chdireport.html

    • This report provides information that clinicians may find useful for practice related to health disparities among individuals from ethnic minority and/or immigrant backgrounds. The CDC website also provides links to resources that summarize strategies for reducing health disparities.

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Goforth, A.N., Pham, A.V., Holter, O.G. (2019). Cultural Considerations in School Psychopharmacology. In: Carlson, J., Barterian, J. (eds) School Psychopharmacology. Pediatric School Psychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15541-4_11

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