Enhancing Mental Health for Hispanic and Latinx Persons

Summary/Advice to Counselors

- Provide bilingual services.

- Use family therapy as a primary method of treatment.

- Assess cultural identity and acculturation level for each family member.

- Determine the family's level of belief in traditional and complementary healing practices; integrate these as appropriate.

- Discuss the family's beliefs, history, and experiences with standard American behavioral health services.

- Explore migration and immigration experiences, if appropriate.

- Provide additional respect to the father or father figure in the family.

Summary/Advice to Counselors

- Interview family members or groups of family members (e.g., children) separately to allow them to voice concerns.

- Generate solutions with the family. Do not force changes in family relationships.

- Provide specific, concrete suggestions for change that can be quickly implemented.

- Focus on engaging the family in the first session using warmth and personalismo

- Group leaders should allow members to learn from each other and resist functioning as a content expert or a representative of the rules of the system. Otherwise, members could see group therapy as oppressive

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