Cultural Influences in Psychiatric Treatment

By Keidra A. Welch-Spencer and Kenneth Sakauye, M.D.
| January 1, 2004

Ms. Welch-Spencer is a fourth-year medical student at the Louisiana State University (LSU) School of Medicine in New Orleans. Dr. Sakauye is professor of clinical psychiatry at the LSU Health Science Center and director of geriatric psychiatry at LSU and Ochsner Foundation Hospital.

Non-minority caregivers need to believe that it is not just political correctness to guard against racial stereotyping. Dealing with cultural issues becomes a therapeutic issue that must be discussed openly and uncritically. There is no best way to address it, but it will not become manifest unless confronted gently. One must be more attentive to structural issues in therapy such as scheduling enough time to avoid rushing the patient, avoiding excessively long silences, and providing feedback in the form of repeating how one has understood what was just said. When the patient feels safe to express feelings and believes the therapist genuinely wants to understand, treatment begins.

Further Reading

Bazargan M, Hamm-Baugh VP (1995), The relationship between chronic illness and depression in a community of urban black elderly persons. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 50(2):S119-S127.

Brown DR, Milburn NG, Gary LE (1992), Symptoms of depression among older African-Americans: an analysis of gender differences. Gerontologist 32(6):789-795.

Husaini BA (1997), Predictors of depression among the elderly: racial differences over time. Am J Orthopsychiatry 61(1):48-58.

Pages: 1 2 3

References
1. American Psychiatric Association Task Force on Ethnic Minority Elderly (1994), Ethnic Minority Elderly: A Task Force Report of the American Psychiatric Association. Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Association.
2. Dressler WW (1985), Psychosomatic symptoms, stress, and modernization: a model. Cult Med Psychiatry 9(3):257-294.
3. Kleinman A (1988), Rethinking Psychiatry: From Cultural Category to Personal Experience. New York: Free Press.
4. Sue DW, Sue D (1999), Counseling the Culturally Different: Theory and Practice, 3rd ed. New York: John Wiley and Sons, p246.
5. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2001), Mental Health: Culture, Race, and Ethnicity. A Supplement to Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General. Washington, D.C: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
6. Vaillant GE, Mukamal K (2001), Successful aging. Am J Psychiatry 158(6):839-847 [see comment].

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Cultural Influences in Psychiatric Treatment

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