Abstract
With cultural issues prominent in the United States today and with on-going rapid changes in health care management and delivery, this paper discusses the shift from a generic-type psychiatry (i.e., assuming that humans the world over are no different, and will react to given stressors in life in the same manner) to one recognizing that cultural beliefs, mores, peer pressure, family expectations, and other ingredients operate in unique combinations in various cultures and ethnic groups. These social and cultural factors can and will impact treatment modalities and outcomes. Literature reviewed herein illustrates the progressive stages of awareness and incorporation of cultural differences and the many ways they impact treatment. Unfortunately, the rise in managed, rationed health care threatens the future of this progression. It is essential that culturally-based managed care programs be developed and funded to ensure the availability of cost-effective treatment, through an integrated system of services, to patients of all cultural and economic backgrounds.
References
Abad V, Ramos J, Boyce E (1974) A model for delivery of mental health services to Spanish-speaking minorities.Am J Orthopsychiatry 44:584–595.
Abel TM (1956) Cultural patterns as they affect psychotherapeutic procedures.Am J Psychother 10:738–740.
Benton GH (1921) “War” neurosis and allied conditions in ex-service men.JAMA 77:360–364.
Bolman WM (1968) Cross-cultural psychotherapy.Am J Psychiatry 124:1237–1244.
Brody E (1961) Social conflict and schizophrenic behavior in young adult Negro males.Psychiatry 24:337–346.
Cosmas-Diaz L (1992) The future of psychotherapy with ethnic minorities.Psychotherapy 29:88–94.
Freeman M (1994) The theory of good apples.Behav Health Tomorrow 3(5):1–2.
Geoffrey R (1994) Resident fellow at the Waldorf-Astoria.Psychiatr News 29(21): 20, 25.
Gong-Guy E, Cravens RB, Patterson TE (1991) Clinical issues in mental health service delivery to refugees.Am Psychol 49:642–648.
Kalow W (1982) Ethnic differences in drug metabolism.Clin Pharmacokinet 7:373–400.
Karno M (1966) The enigma of ethnicity in a psychiatric clinic.Arch Gen Psychiatry 14:516–520.
Kennedy JA (1952) Problems posed in the analysis of Negro patients.Psychiatry 15:313–327.
Kinzie JD (1974) Psychiatric epidemiology in Hawaii. In Department of Psychiatry,A review of the literature in people and culture in Hawaii: A handbook for mental health workers (pp. 8–12). Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
Kinzie JD (1991) Development, staffing, and structure of psychiatric clinics. In J Westermeyer, CL Williams, AN Nguyen (Eds.),Mental health services for refugees (DHHS Publication No. [ADM] 91-1824) (pp 146–156). Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office.
Kinzie JD, Boehnlein J (1993) Psychotherapy of victims of massive violence: Countertransference and ethical issues.Am J Psychother 47:90–102.
Kinzie JD, Leung P, Bui A, Ben R, Keopraseuth KO, Riley C, Fleck J, Ades M (1988) Cultural factors in group therapy with Southeast Asian refugees.Community Ment Health J 24:157–166.
Kinzie JD, Manson SM (1983) Five years' experience with Indochinese refugee patients.J Operational Psychiatry 14:105–111.
Kirmayer LJ (1989) Cultural variation in the response to psychiatric disorders and emotional distress.Soc Sci Med 29:327–339.
Lin KM, Poland RE, Nakasaki G (Eds) (1993)Psychopharmacology and psychobiology of ethnicity. Washington, DC: APA Press.
Markowitz LM (1994) The cross-currents of multiculturalism.Fam Ther Networker 18(4):18–26.
Meketon MJ (1983) Indian mental health: An orientation.Am J Orthopsychiatry 53:110–115.
Moffic HS, Kendrick EA, Lomax JW, Reid K (1987) Education in cultural psychiatry in the United States.Transcult Psychiatr Res Rev 24:167–187.
Moffic HS, Adams GL (Eds) (1983) Psychiatric care of minority groups.Am J Soc Psychiatry 3(2).
Mollica RF, Lavelle J (1988) The trauma of mass violence and torture: An overview of the psychiatric care of Southeast Asian refugees. In L Comas-Diaz, EE Griffith (Eds)Clinical practice in cross-cultural mental health. New York: John Wiley and Son.
Mollica RF, Wyshak G, Lavelle J (1987) The psychosocial impact of war trauma and torture on Southeast Asian refugeesAm J Psychiatry 144:1567–1572.
Moran M (1994) Public health strategies to prevent violence.Psychiatr News 29(22):6–7.
Price C (1994) NMA fights managed care discrimination.Clin Psychatry News 22(10):2.
Shermerhorn RA (1956) Psychiatric disorders among Negroes: A sociological role.Am J Psychiatry 112:878–882.
Sue S, McKinney H, Allen D, Hall J (1974) Delivery of community mental health service to black and white clients,J Consult Clin Psychol 42:794–801.
Westermeyer J (1985) Mental health of Southeast Asian refugees: Observations over two decades from Laos and the United States. In TC Owan (Ed)Southeast Asian mental health: Treatment, prevention, services, training and research (pp 65–89). Washington, DC: National Institute for Mental Health.
Westermeyer J, Vang TF, Neider J (1983) Refugees who do and do not seek psychiatric care: An analysis of premigratory and postmigratory characteristics.J Nerv Ment Dis 171:86–91.
Wu IH, Windle C (1980) Ethnic specificity in relative minority use and staffing in community mental health centers.Community Ment Health J 16:156–168.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Moffic, H.S., Kinzie, J.D. The history and future of cross-cultural psychiatric services. Community Ment Health J 32, 581–592 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02251069
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02251069