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Cultural Diversity Resource Center

Last updated May 2023

Upcoming Virtual Mentorship Events

  • How To Get Into Psychiatry 
    May 22 @ 8PM ET/ 5PM PT    
    Register

  • From Theory to Practice: Incorporating Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Principles in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Training
    May 26 @ 12PM ET/ 9AM PT
    Drs. Nikhita Singhal and Chetana Kulkarni share DEI principles that can be applied to Psychiatry and other fields in Healthcare.

    Learning Objectives:
    1. Understand current gaps in child and adolescent psychiatry postgraduate training related to equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) principles.
    2. Discuss innovative and evidence-informed approaches to designing and implementing EDI-focused curricula, including involvement of individuals with lived experience, using our project as an example.
    3. Consider how the educational offering we are developing can be adapted and made more broadly applicable for a variety of interdisciplinary healthcare professionals.

  • Life Members Virtual Mentorship Program
    June 14 @8PM ET/ 5PM PT 
    Engage with members of AACAP’s Life Members Committee who will share their wisdom and advice about building a career in child and adolescent psychiatry. 
    Register

  • Life Members Virtual Mentorship Program
    August 2nd @8PM ET/ 5PM PT
    Engage with members of AACAP’s Life Members Committee who will share their wisdom and advice about building a career in child and adolescent psychiatry. 
    Register

Resource Libraries

AACAP has created Resource Libraries for parents, patients, and clinicians to help with the impact of relevant culture and diversity issues.

 

Know of a great CAP resource not listed on AACAP's website? Share any professional development opportunities with us on the CAPturing Resources Form. Scholarships, awards, research opportunities, fellowships, supplementary training programs, research opportunities... If you think it matters, it matters!

About

Culture and Diversity for Child & Adolescent Psychiatrists Resource Center Image The United States and its ever-changing cultural landscape shape the way we experience diversity. Cultural values and beliefs not only affect our daily activities and functions, but also influence the way we perceive physical and emotional distress and interventions to deal with them. Mental illness is perceived differently by various cultures, as is the ability to express certain symptoms. Some cultures have stigmatized mental illness, making it difficult for families and individuals to seek resources and interventions commonly used in western societies. Due to this, some cultures rely on alternative interventions in treating common mental health disorders. Emotional distress and mental health problems occur in all socio-cultural backgrounds. This information is intended to raise awareness of diversity issues and to assist a clinician with integrating them into their practice.

Choose a topic:

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. What is diversity and culture?
  2. Why is diversity and culture important?
  3. How do a family's culture and values affect their child's mental health?
  4. How does a mental health professionals' culture and value system affect a child's treatment?

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AACAP Caucuses

AACAP’s Caucus groups provide a forum for AACAP members within their own racial/ethnic groups to network and collaborate on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)-focused initiatives. Activities include providing affinity-based mentorship, convening in safe spaces to discuss identity-focused challenges specific to their workplaces and communities, and work on programming, advocacy activities, and publications to highlight topics of shared interest within the cohorts. There are four AACAP Caucuses: Asian Caucus; Black Caucus; Hispanic/Latinx Caucus; International Medical Graduate Caucus. These groups meet at varying times throughout the year. If you wish to receive notifications of upcoming Caucus events, share your information via the Diversity and Culture Committee Special Interest Group Sign-up form.  

List of AACAP Components which includes the Committee Chairs and Staff Liaison Information.

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Awards

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AACAP Awards

External Award Opportunities

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Clinical Guidelines

Practice Parameters: AACAP's Practice Parameters were developed by a group of experts on the topic to guide clinical decision making.

AACAP's Practice Parameter for Cultural competence in Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Practice

Video Clips

Mental Health: A Guide for African American and their Families

Mental Health: A Guide for Latinos and their Families

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Training and Education

Diversity and Culture Curriculum 

Developed by the Diversity and Cultural Committee, this curriculum was designed for training Child & Adolescent Psychiatric trainees in Diversity and Cultural Competency. Such training is considered essential as our patient population will continue to be diverse. Providing a framework for training programs as well as well as assessing the trainee’s progress is necessary. The proposed curriculum will guide training directors and faculty, so they may develop an individualized curriculum for their programs while adhering to the ACGME required milestones. The curriculum includes core requirements for all trainees and elective modules that training directors can tailor based on populations that they serve. 

Download the Curriculum


Improving Cultural Competency for Behavioral Health Professionals [FREE online course]

Office of Minority Health, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

Learn how to better respect and respond to your client's unique needs in this free, online training. Cultural and linguistic competency is recognized as an important strategy for improving the quality of care provided to clients from diverse backgrounds. The goal of this e-learning program is to help behavioral health professionals increase their cultural and linguistic competency.

  • Original Release Date: May 1, 2019
  • Last Date of Review: March 1, 2021
  • Expiration Date: March 31, 2024

    Estimated Time to Complete this Activity: 5.0 hours

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Wellness

Diversity and Culture Focused Publications

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

[Note: Individuals with names in bold font are either Diversity and Culture Committee members, or AACAP Caucus members.]

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Presentations

 Warren Ng, MD Presidential Address - AACAP 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting - Karl Menninger, MD, Plenary

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Books, Media, & Related Material

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Related Websites

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Additional Professional Resources

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I. Research

Acculturation, development, and adaptation
Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am.
October 2010 – Volume 19 – issue 4 – pp 681-696

Culture and development in children and youth
Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am.
October 2010 – Volume 19 – issue 4 – pp 661-680

'Our community is the worst': the influence of cultural beliefs on stigma, relationships with family and help-seeking in three ethnic communities in London.
Int J Soc Psychiatry
Sept. 2013 – Volume 59 – issue 6 – pp 535-544

The Muslim child, adolescent, and family
Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am.
January 2004 – Volume 13 – issue 1 – pp 183-200

Language, culture, and adaptation in immigrant children
Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am.
January 2010 – Volume 19 – issue 4 – pp 697-717

Leaving No Children or Families outside: The Challenges of Immigration
American Journal of Orthopsychiatry
2010 - Volume 80 - Issue 4 - pp 505-515

Mental Health of Immigrants and Refugees
Community Mental Health Journal
October 2005 - Volume 41 – Issue 5 – pp 581-597

 

II. Training

Culturally informed child psychiatry practice
Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am.
October 2010 – Volume 19 – issue 4 – pp 759-774

Training child and adolescent psychiatrists to be culturally competent
Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am.
October 2010 – Volume 19 – issue 4 – pp 815-831

III. Curriculum

Diversity and Culture competency Curriculum for child and Adolescent Psychiatry Training (AACAP)

A Four-Year Model Curriculum on Culture, gender, LGBT, Religion, and Spirituality for General Psychiatry (Residency Training Programs in the United States)

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Other Related Topics

* Disparities in Mental Health Care

"10 Things you can do to eliminate ethnic and racial disparities in Mental Health"

National Network to Eliminate Disparities in Behavioral Health

Issues to Consider When Engaging Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Youth in Psychiatric Care More...

Issues to Consider When Engaging Muslim Youth in Psychiatric Care More...

** Immigration and Refugees

Issues to Consider When Engaging Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Youth in Psychiatric Care

Issues to Consider When Engaging Muslim Youth in Psychiatric Care

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Sign-up for one of the Diversity and Culture Committee's Special Interest Groups


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