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Volume 26:2
- Issues in community mental health : Respecting diversity: treatment in the context of family and culture. By Steven J. Friedman and Robert S. Olko(editors). Canton, MA: PRODIST. 1998, 138 pages. REVIEW
Issues in community mental health : Respecting diversity: treatment in the context of family and culture. By Steven J. Friedman and Robert S. Olko(editors). Canton, MA: PRODIST. 1998, 138 pages.
This monograph was developed from the annual Fall Forum of the Westchester County (New York) Department of Community Mental Health and was intended as a practical guide addressing cultural competence in the provision of services for diverse populations. It begins with an overview of the history of family therapy as it evolved out of the larger framework of individual and group therapy, developing its concepts and language from addictions therapy and systems thinking. Two chapters focus on children, the first on urban city children who have been abandoned or neglected. The second focuses on the El Museo Project which uses art as part of a larger prevention program that underlines stress-reduction strategies for inner city minority children. Two chapters focus on Latino treatment issues, one from a larger Hispanic culturally competent practice overview to a second that focuses predominantly on the Puerto Rican culture. Two chapters focus on African Americans: The first on ethnocultural considerations in the assessment and treatment of persons of African descent , including Americans and immigrant populations; the second on cultural perspectives in family focused treatment with alcohol or substance abusers. The remaining two chapters cover working with Chinese patients and building partnerships with families using the Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health philosophy.
As an overview of cultural issues in treatment using a family-focused modality, the monograph lives up to expectations. It is broad-based, generally reiterates the current thinking on cultural competence, uses case vignettes effectively, and is easy to read. For a novice or entry level person, this could easily be recommended as basic reading, especially if used with supplemental material.
However, I found the work somewhat uneven stylistically. Stated that it was developed as a practical guide , I expected more practical advice on targeting culturally sensitive issues from the work, such as : "this is the overview" and "these are the issues I keep in mind when working with this particular population." This overview/practical approach would have made smoother transitions within and among the chapters. "Treating Chinese Patients" by Chou and Ng is a good example of the use of this approach. A second problem was the overall lack of data specific to Westchester County. From an ethnographic perspective, I did not receive much of a picture of Westchester and its diverse groups, especially from a services or treatment perspective. A final problem was that two of the contributors either did not provide in-text references to their bibliography or used comments in place of citations when referencing specific chapters by these noted thinkers in the field. In the first instance, without citations to reference a statement, it could be assumed to be anecdotal. I do not know if I would read through all the books listed in the bibliography to find substantiation or further information about some of the statements. In the second case, if I were a novice to mental health practice and issues, a guide to selected readings would be more useful than simply the person’s name with a few lines about the person.
Overall, even with these stylistic issues, I found Respecting Diversity an interesting discussion of cultural issues in treating diverse populations.
Ardis Hanson, M.L.S.
Library Director
The Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute
University of South Florida
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