Treatment outcome studies in the discipline of social work, psychology, and psychiatry have demonstrated the efficacy and effectiveness of differential psychotherapy approaches in addressing the psychological needs of individuals across the life span. Throughout the last four decades, scholar-practitioners have engaged in a professional quest to find evidence to support the efficacy of psychotherapy in ameliorating an array of clinical symptoms and levels of distress in identified patient or client populations. This chapter presents an overview of evidence-based practice with ethnically diverse clients. Predicated on an integrative understanding of evidence-based practice and cultural competency in mental health and clinical care settings, and on the importance of intersectionality as the guiding theoretical perspective for effective delivery of patient-centered services, it presents selected conceptual frameworks for the cultural adaptation of evidence-based treatments. The chapter highlights culturally adapted cognitive-behavioral therapy as an exemplar of evidence-based treatment for ethnic and racially diverse patient populations.

This chapter highlights both the strengths of Arab American families and the challenges they face, as well as outline recommendations for clinical social work practice. It also highlights important similarities, differences, and false assumptions associated with Arab culture. It is essential to understand the culture of Arab American immigrants, their strengths and needs, their cultural attitudes toward mental health services, and the post-9/11 anti-Arab political climate before choosing an appropriate intervention approach. Based on these issues, social workers need to take into consideration the diverse cultural values held within the Arab community while practicing within mainstream American health delivery systems. Additionally, providers must educate themselves on Arabic culture and Islamic values. Finally, it is imperative that clinicians explore other appropriate approaches when dealing with Arab individuals, families, and communities that reflect on their experiences, such as linkages to immigration services or partnering with an imam for counseling.

Critical discourse on domestic adoption practices and the colonization of children of color via international adoption is ongoing, as adoption represents part of the larger narrative of historical oppression and institutionalized discrimination of communities of color domestically and internationally. The prevalence, continuation, and long-term outcomes of transracial adoption remain controversial. Considerable research over the past two decades has explored a variety of factors related to domestic and international transracial adoption. Extant research covers identity development of transracial adoptees, adoption microaggressions, names and identity for transracial adoptees, authenticity for transracial adoptees, and racial, ethnic, and cultural socialization of adoptees. This chapter provides a brief history of domestic and international transracial adoption practices, knowledge about transracial socialization patterns (i.e., racial, ethnic, and cultural) and their long term effects, and an understanding of the clinical implications of working with transracially adopted individuals. In addition, it provides a case vignette and discussion questions.

This chapter begins by providing an overview of contemporary religious trends in the United States and how these vary according to age, sex, and socioeconomic status to show their increasing diversity and the shifts that are taking place in people’s religious and spiritual identification. Following this demographic context, it examines the interrelation between ethnicity, religion, education, and religious and spiritual identification. To better understand some recent changes in the spiritual lives of Americans in the United States, the chapter reviews the distinction between religion and spirituality. Once used interchangeably, these terms have different meanings in today’s world. From there, it explores religious and cultural worldviews, their interrelationship, and how these influence feelings and behaviors. Finally, the chapter discusses implications for practice with ethnically diverse families and communities and provides a case example.

Suicide is a problem that knows no cultural boundaries. As the minority population in the United States continues to grow, it is essential for health and mental health providers to develop culturally relevant prevention and intervention efforts to address these at-risk populations. Risk and protective factors vary across culture and ethnicities, as do attitudes and perspectives regarding suicide acceptability. Intervention and prevention efforts should be guided by culturally relevant risk and protective factors for suicide and an understanding of attitudes toward suicide among the target population. This chapter explores the diverse demographic and ethnic profile of suicidal behavior in the United States and reviews known psychosocial risk factors for suicide within these cultural groups. It reviews the critical factors related to culture to be considered when conducting a risk assessment with suicidal clients. The chapter explores the treatment of suicidal individuals from culturally competent and evidence-based practice perspectives.

Multiracial individuals are at the forefront of the country’s significant demographic changes, yet, despite robust growth over the past several decades, the multiracial population has only recently been fully acknowledged by the U.S. Census Bureau and thus only officially accounted for in recent years. Despite the elimination of some legal barriers to interracial relationships, interracial couples continue to experience discrimination, inappropriate comments, and rejection based on their relationship status. This chapter discusses monoracial parents of multiracial children. Decades of developmental research suggests that parenting and family processes play important roles in youth development and have been linked to overall youth well-being. It briefly highlights the research that focuses on the experiences of multiracial individuals and discusses the racial identity development of multiracial individuals as well as the microaggressions these individuals experience in their everyday life. The chapter provides some clinical considerations through a case example.

This chapter focuses primarily on domestic violence and social work practice with low-income immigrant women, particularly those who are undocumented. Impressive social and legal remedies were achieved for victims of domestic violence in the beginning of the women’s movement. However, legislative and regulatory changes were critically needed for domestic violence victims with immigrant and refugee status to ensure their ability to access needed social welfare services and public benefits such as income support, healthcare, employment, education, housing, and personal social services. In addition, social workers were challenged to develop new models of intervention and practice that addressed the needs of immigrant domestic violence victims. An understanding of how different immigrant communities view domestic violence can help social workers begin to reformulate their practice, advocate for policy changes, and formulate effective responses to assist battered immigrant women.

Asian immigrant experiences are vastly diverse and intersectional, depending on the specific family’s immigration/migration history, pre-immigration experiences, social class, generational and acculturation status, post-migration experiences, racial and ethnic identities, religious and linguistic traditions, legal status, and social identities. This chapter discusses cultural aspects that are often shared by Asian immigrant families, while acknowledging that the degree to which such cultural values are shared may vary within the population. Hence, practitioners are encouraged to assess and explore the specific contexts of each family. The chapter notes that while it focuses the discussions on Asian immigrants, it also uses the terminology Asian Americans to refer to Asians in the United States broadly. The chapter chooses to use both terminologies in order to capture the experiences of families that may include both immigrants and their family members (e.g., their children) who were born and raised in the United States.

The chapter discusses elements of Afrocentricity; pointing out that Afrocentric scholars de-emphasize the marginalization of people of African ancestry and place them at the center of all discourses. It focuses on the need to contextualize a treatment framework that encompasses the confluence of a family’s idiosyncratic processes and the Nguza Saba, the seven principles of Kwanzaa. The chapter explores how an Afrocentric perspective can be used in family treatment with African Americans, and focuses on how the construct of intersectionality can be used to contextualize the lives of this group. It provides an overview of slavery, highlighting the multiple ways in which families have been affected. Slave trauma syndrome and posttraumatic slave syndrome are two relatively new constructs that are receiving attention from social scientists who have argued that the horrendous acts of physical and psychological violence perpetrated under the institution of slavery have culminated in psychic trauma.

This chapter, based on the author’s analysis of the existing literature, qualitative data analysis from interviews conducted with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) people and their families, and more than 44 years of clinical practice with individuals and their families, examines the experience of LGBT people and their families through an ecological lens. It also examines the primary reciprocal exchanges and transactions that LGBT people and their families face as they confront the unique person: environmental tasks involved in a society that assumes all of its members are heterosexual and oriented to the gender in which they were born. The chapter discusses demographic issues, psychosocial risks and psychosocial needs of LGBT people, clinical assessment issues of working with an individual where sexual orientation and/or gender identity expression is the presenting issue, and recommendations for intervening with this population. It presents recommendations for practice with LGBT people and their families.