Read the articles “Applications in Social Justice Counselor Training: Classroom Without Walls” and “The Multicultural Workplace: Interactive Acculturation and Intergroup Relations” and review the APA Guidelines for Providers of Psychological Services to Ethnic, Linguistic, and Culturally Diverse Populations prior to considering the following scenario.
You are a psychologist in an urban community that has seen a 200% growth in its immigrant population over the past 3 years. Eighty-seven percent of this population speaks a language other than English at home. You work for a community mental health center, which is seeing an increase in referral from this population primarily because of the children’s interactions with the school system. The children typically become bilingual quickly. The parents are typically less fluent in English than their children; however, approximately 30% of the adults in this immigrant population are fluent in English and hold advanced degrees and middle- to upper- middle class jobs. The remaining 70% primarily hold jobs that do not require higher education although many do have degrees from their country of origin.
Based on the reading, evaluate research and practice aspects in this applied context and use elements from previous learning in your program to address the following:
- What types of staffing and training recommendations would you make for the community mental health center?
- How would you facilitate intergroup work relations among staff at the community mental health center?
- Would you support the use of the DSM-5 to diagnose clients with limited English proficiency?
- How would you evaluate whether or not your staff is competent to work with this population?
- Explain the rationales for your answers by providing evidence from the required readings.
