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Faced with increased global migration and a more ethnically diverse clientele, several studies stress the need for more culturally sensitive welfare services. Others warn that the focus on culture might lead to the culturalization and othering of clients from ethnic minority or migrant backgrounds. In the Norwegian context, cultural sensitivity is implemented in policy documents of the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV) to improve services for immigrant clients. However, the operationalization of cultural sensitivity into service delivery remains unscrutinized. Based on ethnographic fieldwork at a frontline NAV-office, this article unpacks the practical work embedded in being culturally aware, by exploring the circumstances in which street-level workers factor culture into their comprehension and consideration of a case. The article employs a process-oriented approach to its analysis of caseworkers' discussion of cases. Findings show that caseworkers explicitly consider culture mainly when cases appear diffuse and intangible. The caseworkers discuss plausible explanations to make sense of these cases, only one of which is culture. Thus, the caseworkers distinguish culture from the client's ethnicity or migrant background. These findings refine the perception of street-level workers' inability to respond to questions of ethnicity and culture, by describing the dynamic processes of implicit categorization and sensemaking embedded in being aware of culture. The study also highlights the importance of empirical, ethnographic accounts to unpack the operationalization of such theoretical and ambiguous concepts into practice.

Since early 2020 a plethora of events, discussions and publications, from a wide variety of global organisations and individuals have championed mental health (Murray et al 1996, Jenkins 2019, Patel et al 2018 & WHO 2021a). Although not entirely as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the pandemic has certainly contributed significantly to raising mental health issues across the world. What the pandemic demonstrated is the world needs to face global mental health challenges appropriately, which in turn reinforces global health. Key organisations and individuals such as the United Nations (UN) and UN Secretary General for mental health, played a major role in responding to the mental health challenges specifically resulting from Covid-19. This is demonstrated by the production of the UN Policy Briefing in May (UN 2020a) and with it an accompanying statement (UN 2020b). The statement essentially emphasized that all Governments must place mental health services central in any response to the Covid-19 pandemic. It also stressed "when the pandemic is brought under control, grief, anxiety and depression will continue to affect people and communities". In effect, mental health must be a central component of ongoing care.

Much attention has been given to cultural sensitivity within the mental health counseling literature. Deafness has been discussed in the disability literature, but there is little mention of deafness in a cultural context. Consequently, counselors may not be providing culturally sensitive services to their deaf clients. The authors provide an overview of the Deaf culture, describe the unique communication needs of deaf clients, and offer a description of culturally embedded behaviors that are relevant to counseling. Se ha prestado mucha atencion a la sensibilidad cultural en las publicaciones de consejeria en salud mental. Se ha tratado el tema de la sordera en las publicaciones sobre discapacidades, pero apenas se menciona la sordera en un contexto cultural. Como consecuencia, es posible que los consejeros no esten proporcionando servicios culturalmente sensibles a sus clientes con sordera. Los autores proporcionan un resumen general de la cultura de la comunidad sorda, describen la combinacion unica de necesidades de comunicacion de los clientes con sordera y ofrecen una descripcion de comportamientos culturalmente arraigados que son relevantes para la consejeria.

While efforts have been made to understand the experiences of African students in predominantly white environments, the experiences of African students in clinical placement areas have rarely been explored. This paper is a report on a study designed to address the gap in educational research on the experiences of African health sciences students in clinical placements in predominantly white environments. Interviews adopting an open approach to conversations were conducted with nine African students from three health disciplines at one metropolitan university in Australia between 2012 and 2013. Interview transcripts were analyzed using philosophical hermeneutics, where shared meanings were arrived at by employing key Gadamerian hermeneutic components. Findings revealed a number of factors that had a direct effect on the meaning students derived from their clinical placement experiences. These, as revealed in the interlinked domains of body, space, relationships, and time included difference, acceptance, resilience, and cultural sensitivity. Insights from this study may lead to the adoption of strategies designed to improve the experiences of African students studying health sciences in predominantly white environments.

Background: In the UK, public health nurses (health visitors) provide support and advice to families with young children, including those from minority ethnic communities. While the need for cultural sensitivity is being increasingly recognized, the factors which contribute to this sensitivity are poorly understood. The Pakistani and Chinese communities constitute the two largest minority ethnic groups in Scotland. This study explored Pakistani and Chinese women's experience of motherhood and of the health visiting service and public health nurses' experiences of working with Chinese and Pakistani mothers. Methods: Semi-structured individual interviews were carried out with 16 Pakistani and 15 Chinese mothers. Eight health visitors took part in two focus groups. The study was undertaken in an urban area of Scotland. Data were analysed thematically. Findings: Chinese and Pakistani mothers negotiate complex processes in order to ensure that their children maintain their own ethnic identity while fitting in with their peers in their adopted country. Health visitors were seen as supportive, although sometimes advice and information given was culturally inappropriate, and their role was often poorly understood. Health visitors were anxious to be sensitive to families' religious and cultural beliefs. Conclusions: Cultural sensitivity is an important factor in providing appropriate advice and help to Pakistani and Chinese families, and involves health visitors in considering views and practices on parenting which may differ across cultures, including their own. Family characteristics need to be understood on an individual basis, rather than making assumptions about clients' cultural norms and lifestyles. This is best achieved by exploring with mothers if they understand the advice and information they are being offered and also if it is appropriate to their cultural and religious beliefs. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Aim. The aim of this study was to describe the development of a Nurse Cultural Competence Scale using Mokken scaling. Background. The psychometrics of the present cultural competence assessment tools has been questioned. The levels of competence measured by existing tools are not capable of indicating individual differences. Design. This study employed a cross-sectional design. A convenience sample of 172 on-the-job nursing students in a college of technology in Taiwan was recruited. Methods. Based on previous literature, the Nurse Cultural Competence Scale comprising 41 items was developed to measure the concept of cultural awareness, cultural knowledge, cultural sensitivity and cultural skill. Mokken scaling analysis was conducted to investigate the unidimensionality and hierarchical nature of the scale. Results. From the 41 items entered into the Mokken scaling procedure, 20 form a strong Mokken scale. The 20 items form a reliable and statistically significant scale which is negatively skewed. The ordering of the items from lowest to highest difficulty shows a hierarchy. Relevance to clinical practice. Nursing managers and educators may use this scale to assess the levels of cultural competence of their members or students and then provide the education according to individual needs.

This paper presents the results of a needs analysis carried out during a 2-year European Union-funded project titled ‘Intercultural education of nurses and health professionals in Europe’. Aims: The study aimed to explore the perceived learning and teaching needs of students and practitioners of health-care professions in relation to preparation for working in another European country and/or in a multicultural environment. The participating countries were: Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Romania and the UK. Methods: Questionnaires, consisting of open questions, were completed by a total of 118 participants. Data analysis adopted both a priori and inductive approaches. The predetermined constructs of cultural awareness, cultural knowledge, cultural sensitivity and cultural competence were used to structure suggestions for theoretical input and practical activities and experiences. Inductive analysis revealed other emergent themes that underpin all four of these constructs. Results: Practical experiences form a fundamental part of preparation for labour mobility and/or for practice within a multicultural environment. However, health-care practitioners need to be adequately prepared for such experiences and value the opportunity to learn about culture, to explore values and beliefs, and to practise intercultural skills within the safe environment of an educational establishment, facilitated by skilled teachers.

Increasing numbers of students are opting for study abroad programs of 2 months or less while research on study abroad generally focuses on semester- or year-long programs. This study quantitatively examines changes in students' spoken Spanish after 6 weeks in Argentina using native speaker ratings of student speech. The researcher then uses self-report measures to determine which of the following variables predict improvements in speaking, pre-program motivation and intercultural sensitivity, relationship with the host family, and interaction with native speakers. Results suggest that short-term programs can benefit language skills, as the majority of students in this program demonstrated small yet highly significant improvements in spoken Spanish even though a percentage of students showed a decrease in their skills. Surprisingly, only pre-program levels of cultural sensitivity predicted students' improvements in language skills, providing further evidence of the importance of culture in language learning. Key words: Spanish, culture and language learning, linguistic gains, motivation, oral skills, short-term study abroad In the wake of major events such as the attacks of September 11, 2001, and the ensuing war on terror, society is increasingly turning to study abroad as a means of acquiring the important cultural and linguistic skills that are so vital in today's globalized world. Indeed, recent statistics show that study abroad participation in the United States has increased approximately 20% since the attacks of 9/11 (Institute of International Education, 2005, n.p.). This increase in participation in study abroad seems like a very positive trend for language and culture learning. However, research on language learning during study abroad often shows that study abroad is not always as effective as the language learning and teaching community would hope. While much of the research on study abroad demonstrates that students often experience gains in oral proficiency in the target language through their participation in these programs (see Brecht, Davidson, & Ginsberg, 1993; Freed, 1995; Ginsberg, 1992; Yager, 1998), many of these same studies indicate that a large minority do not show any measurable gains in their speaking skills (Brecht et al., 1993; Ginsberg, 1992). These findings leave many empirical questions regarding the effectiveness of study abroad in helping students to make significant strides in language skills and cultural sensitivity. The need for further research on the effectiveness of study abroad programs seems even more pressing in the case of short-term study abroad programs, defined for this study as programs lasting 2 months or less. Participants in short-term programs of less than a semester make up a staggering 52% of the total number of students who go abroad from the United States (Institute of International Education, 2009, n.p). At the same time, the majority of research involving study abroad has focused on semester- or year-long programs. If students in semester- or year-long programs do not always improve their language skills as much as hoped, one has to ask how much progress a student could reasonably expect to make in a program lasting 2 months or less. This study, therefore, seeks to answer two basic questions: What changes in speaking skills do students in short-term study abroad programs experience, and what factors predict improvements in speaking skills during short-term programs abroad? Literature Review Oral Skills in Study Abroad As mentioned previously, much of the research on study abroad for purposes of language learning shows that students who go abroad for a semester often move up one level, according to ACTFL guidelines. For example, Brecht et al. (1993) looked at the gain scores of students who had spent a semester abroad learning Russian. Students completed an Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) before and after their time abroad. …

Multiculturalism and evidence-based practice (EBP) in psychotherapy hailed from disparate sources and rarely interacted. These strange bedfellows have become fast friends in recent years as they recognize their crucial interdependence: multiculturalism without strong research risks becoming an empty political value and EBP without cultural sensitivity risks irrelevancy. In this article, the authors reviewed various incarnations and recent manifestations of their overdue intersection, including several conferences, federal initiatives, and organizational accomplishments. They introduced the subsequent 6 articles in this special issue of the Journal of Clinical Psychology: In Session, which described and illustrated cultural-sensitive evidence-based practices. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol: In Session 66:1–9, 2010.

Racism, ethnocentrism, segregation, stereotyping, and classism are tightly linked to health equity and social determinants of health. They lead to lack of power, money, resources, and education which may result in poor health care access and outcomes. Health profession faculties must address the complex relationships that exist between individual, interpersonal, institutional, social and political factors that influence health outcomes in both clinical and research training. Thus, the purposes of this paper are to provide examples of training strategies from nursing education that foster cultural sensitivity. First, assumptions about health equity, culture, ethnicity and race are explored. Second, clinical training within an undergraduate and graduate context are explored, including an undergraduate cancer case study and in a graduate pediatric nursing program are described to demonstrate how cultural models can be used to integrate the biomedical and psychosocial content in a course. Third, research training for summer scholars and doctoral and post doctoral fellows (short and long term) is described to demonstrate how to increase the number and quality of scholars prepared to conduct research with vulnerable populations. Research training strategies include a summer research institute, policy fellowship, and a scholars “pipeline” program. A unique perspective is presented through collaboration between a nursing school and a center for health disparities research.

Issues of the effectiveness of international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are becoming critical among a claim that cultural sensitivity to people's needs and the appropriateness of interventions is a competitive advantage of the sector. Here, the cross-cultural management agenda is set out, particularly in terms of the transferability or appropriateness of management knowledge and development interventions. Research propositions are presented that, if supported through future empirical findings, suggest cultural hybridization is a process that can be managed through greater stakeholder involvement, leading to greater appropriateness as well as effectiveness of international NGOs.

The first major revision of the ACA Code of Ethics in a decade occurred in late 2005, with the updated edition containing important new mandates and imperatives. This article provides interviews with members of the Ethics Revision Task Force that flesh out seminal changes in the revised ACA Code of Ethics in the areas of confidentiality, romantic and sexual interactions, dual relationships, end-of-life care for terminally ill clients, cultural sensitivity, diagnosis, interventions, practice termination, technology, and deceased clients.

Culture has not always played a major role in foreign language instruction. Indeed, it was only in the 1980s that educators began giving serious thought to employing culture for language learning purposes. Exploring issues of otherness in Pepe Danquart's film Schwarzfahrer, this article illustrates how one can address the more controversial aspects of a culture in a manner that promotes cultural sensitivity at the same time that it prompts students to gain a greater knowledge of other cultures and acquire more insight into their own cultures.

Despite significant evidence pointing to the key role of relationship quality in solidifying commercial relationships, limited attention has been paid to its determinants in an international context. In an attempt to fill this research gap, our study examines the impact of asset specificity, role performance and cultural sensitivity on the quality of the relationships between importers and their foreign suppliers. It is based on a mailed survey involving 292 importing firms. Relationship quality is presented as a higher-order concept that results in lower conflict and greater trust, commitment and satisfaction. The results indicate that asset specificity, role performance and cultural sensitivity play a significant positive role in building sound relationship quality. Several managerial implications are extracted from the study, as well as suggestions for future research.

This study empirically investigates the impacts of consumer ethnocentrism and cultural sensitivity on both imported product judgment and intention to purchase local products in the context of a developing country—Vietnam. Structural equation modeling was used to test these impacts, utilizing a sample of 549 consumers. The results show that consumer ethnocentrism is negatively related to imported product judgment and positively related to intention to purchase local products. In addition, cultural sensitivity has a positive relationship with imported product judgment but not with consumer ethnocentrism. The results also indicate that the impacts of consumer ethnocentrism on imported product judgment and on intention to purchase local products are not different in terms of product categories, gender, income, and education levels. However, differences exist between younger and older consumers. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The primary question addressed in this article is whether and how career theories can be more culturally sensitive without losing value as conceptual explanations or their usefulness for counselors. Contextual action theory is identified as a means to develop culturally sensitive explanations. Six steps are proposed and illustrated, including using the naive observations and subjective reports and recognizing ongoing processes. The use of these steps in counseling is also addressed.

A schism now exists between Blacks and Jews in the United States, 2 groups that were strong allies during the civil rights movement. The authors describe the historical antecedents of and contributing factors to this schism and present information on and lessons learned from 2 Black-Jewish dialogues that were conducted. Existe en la actualidad un cisma entre Negros y Judios en los Estados Unidos, 2 grupos que fueron grandes aliados durante el movimiento de reivindicacion de los derechos civiles. Los autores describen los antecedentes historicos y los factores que han contribuido a este cisma y presentan la informacion obtenida y las lecciones aprendidas a partir de 2 conversaciones llevadas a cabo entre individuos Negros y Judios.

Using the Delphi method, university counseling center supervisors with significant experience in multicultural supervision generated and ranked elements of successful and unsuccessful multicultural supervision. Twenty-seven of 35 successful elements and 24 of 33 unsuccessful elements involved cultural considerations. Multicultural supervision was defined as a supervisory situation in which the individuals in the supervisory dyad differed in their ethnicity. Empleando el metodo Delphi, los supervisores de un centro universitario de consejeria con amplia experiencia en supervision multicultural generaron y clasificaron elementos de supervision multicultural fructuosos e infructuosos. Veintisiete de los 35 elementos fructuosos y 24 de los 35 infructuosos implicaron consideraciones culturales. La supervision multicultural se definio como una situacion de supervision en la cual las personas que forman la diada tienen etnicidades distintas.

The author defines and presents a rationale for service learning, provides procedures for implementing service learning with children affected by poverty, and describes methods of facilitating multicultural counseling competence. Examples are provided from a graduate counseling class that conducted group play therapy with 11 African American children at a community center. La autora define y presenta una base para aprender de servicio, proporciona los procedimientos para aplicar el servicio aprender con ninos afectado por la pobreza, y describe los metodos de facilitar aconsejar la competencia multicultural. Los ejemplos se proporcionan de un graduado que aconseja la clase que realizo el grupo la terapia del juego con 11 ninos Americanos Africanos en un centro de la comunidad.

Purpose—To describe successful and not-so-successful strategies for recruiting and retaining Arab Muslim immigrant women and their adolescent children for research. Design and Methods—A longitudinal study of mother-child adjustment of Arab immigrants to the US is used for illustration. A panel of experts was assembled and provided culturally specific advice about gatekeepers, advertising, data collectors, data collection, and how to track and encourage participation at subsequent time points in the study. Findings—Most of the strategies recommended by the panel were overwhelmingly positive, including advice about data collectors, how to collect data, financial incentives, avoiding offending families, and personal contacts. Hiring data collectors who were able to establish personal and culturally appropriate relationships with study participants was the single most successful recruitment and retention strategy. Advice from cultural experts about which gatekeepers to engage and how to advertise for study participants was not productive. Conclusions—Researchers should not only assemble a panel of cultural experts to provide advice about group specific strategies to build trust and maintain cultural sensitivity, but also to budget generously for time for data collectors to build and maintain rapport with study populations who, like Arab immigrant women, highly value personal relationships.

Genetic counselors frequently counsel clients whose first language is not English, relying on interpreters and on supplementary translated written material. This paper highlights factors that counselors need to consider before using or commissioning translated leaflets. It is based on an assessment of leaflets translated into Urdu, the national language of Pakistan, which are available through U.K. genetics clinics for use with Pakistani-origin clients. The 2 authors, who know Urdu as their 2nd and 1st languages respectively, independently read each leaflet, checking for accuracy of information, ease of reading and understanding, cultural sensitivity, and contact details for Urdu-speaking professionals. There were factual errors and confusing or very difficult text in all leaflets; some leaflets also contained culturally insensitive messages that could alienate users of genetics services. The paper discusses the reasons for these pitfalls and makes recommendations to guide the future production of translated genetics leaflets.

The extent to which Basic Confidence Scales predicted career decision-making self-efficacy was studied in a sample of 627 undergraduate students. Six confidence variables accounted for 49% of the variance in career decision-making self-efficacy. Leadership confidence was the most important, but confidence in science, mathematics, writing, using technology, and cultural sensitivity all contributed significant incremental variance. There were some differences as a function of race and gender, but leadership confidence was the most significant predictor in all subgroups. Implications for educational and career counseling are discussed.

Summary This paper reports on a research programme that has investigated the migration experiences of highly skilled professional and business migrants to New Zealand. Over a four-year period, five separate studies have been conducted on the stages in the process of migration. The paper sets out a model of the stages of the migration process and the data and analysis which it has guided. Of particular interest are the information sources available to potential migrants and employers, the cultural sensitivity of settlement processes and the migrants' subsequent ease of access to the labour market. The paper analyses information flows available to migrants at crucial phases in the migration process based on a stages model of the migration process. The model indicates some of the critical steps, interactions, and decisions in the migration process from the individual's point of view. Crucial information gaps are identified and implications are drawn for actors involved at the different stages.

The goals of this article are to define anti-Semitism; demonstrate the necessity for accurately labeling anti-Semitic behavior as such; provide longitudinal evidence of anti-Semitism and the mistreatment of Jews and the absence of addressing Jewish issues by the counseling profession; prepare a compendium of the preceding—and in so doing, create an awareness of the resulting problem. The author posits that the near universal failure of those committed to multicultural counseling to rail against anti-Semitism and embrace the notion of Jews as a culturally distinct group poses a serious threat to the delivery of bias-free counseling and thus the image that the counseling profession presents of itself to other mental health professions and the general public.

The authors conducted an analog study to investigate the difference between culturally responsive and culturally neutral counselors. Sixty Asian international students were interviewed by 6 counselors. Students in the culturally responsive condition rated their counselors as significantly more expert, attractive, and trustworthy than those in the culturally neutral condition. Un estudio analagico se diseno para investigar la diferencia entre consejeros culturalmente sensibles y culturalmente neutrales. Sesenta estudiantes internacionales Asiaticos fueron entrevistados por seis consejeros. Los estudiantes en la condicion culturalmente sensible valoraron a sus consejeros como significativamente mas expertos, atractivos, y confiables que esos en la condicion culturalmente neutral.

Humor can reflect the healthy release of feelings during the counseling process, the type of emotional release that leads to significant therapeutic gains. It can also be a disturbing distraction, possibly causing early termination, if used inappropriately. Counselors need to exert particular caution before attempting to apply humor in working with a client from a culture different from the counselor's. This article explores the available literature and offers contributions on the subject from 4 “ethnically diverse” perspectives. Finally, a general approach based on existential theory is presented along with 5 general conditions to ascertain the appropriate use of humor.

Le concept, souvent mal compris, de psychologie indigene est examinedans une perspective de meta-discipline, qu'autorise une etude de psychologie sociale interculturelle. On discutera de l'accent mis sur un aspect comme etant inexact dans les faits, theoriquement trompeur et politiquement dangereux. The often misunderstood concept of indigenous psychologies is examined from the meta-discipline perspective afforded by a social-psychological study of the science. Motivation underlying the indigenisation movement, semantic difeculties with the concept, and models for indigenisation of the discipline are examined. The commonly accepted building-block approach is of increasing numbers of indigenous contributions leading to an emerging indigenous psychology. An alternative, but often overlooked approach, is of autochthonous discipline development leading to increasing numbers of seasoned researchers creatively pursuing culturally relevant research. Both approaches are intertwined and necessary for a more encompassing deenition and understanding of the indigenisation process. An overview of the required elements for this broader deenition indicate the need for simultaneous pursuit of research in the local culture and autochthonous discipline development, demands that can place the researcher in anessential tension.

The massive influx of Pakistani and international aid workers into conservative areas of northern Pakistan and Kashmir following the devastating earthquake of October 2005 raised challenging issues around cultural sensitivity. This editorial describes the outcome of research conducted by the Feinstein International Center 18 months after the disaster, and highlights the dilemmas confronting organizations committed to the often divergent ideals of respecting local cultures, protecting the rights of staff and promoting gender equality. Reconciling the differing standards that local communities applied to national and international workers, and to male and female staff, proved difficult. Often it was the behaviour of national staff that was perceived by locals as most insensitive, highlighting the need for cultural sensitivity training to extend beyond expatriates. The simplistic and dichotomous language about ‘nationals’ and ‘internationals’ or ‘locals’ and ‘foreigners’ used by the UN and international NGOs masked the diversity of cultural norms within Pakistan and Kashmir.

This study assessed whether contact between members of 2 social groups generalized to contact in another setting, as well as influenced their intercultural knowledge and acceptance. Subjects were 244 international (mainly ethnic Chinese) and Anglo-Australian students living in 3 student residence halls, with each group comprising a numerical majority, equal proportion, and a numerical minority in one of the residential halls. As anticipated, group ratio exerted a systematic effect on the amount of intercultural contact, with most contact by members of a numerical minority, regardless of student group. Importantly, the pattern of residence-hall contact tended to generalize to the wider university environment and to influence intercultural knowledge and acceptance. However, contact was not unqualified in its effects, particularly in relation to members of the cultural majority.

This investigation tests the hypothesis that perceptions of general and multicultural counseling competence are distinct constructs. The findings question the validity of the assumption that general and multicultural counseling competence are separate constructs—particularly for certain clients. The implications of these findings for future research and counselor training are discussed.

Twenty-four adolescent mothers completed a cultural identity questionnaire and met with an observer in their home to complete the HOME Scale. Analyses utilizing Pearson product moment correlation coefficients found a significant relationship between high identity with the Native American culture and lower scores on verbal responsivity and on provision of material goods. These findings were expected given the Chickasaw values of quietness, reservation, and few worldly possessions. This study illustrates why cultural sensitivity is important for training and in practice when providing community services, such as early intervention. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Arguments are made in this commentary for the importance of integrating quantitative psychological and interpretive ethnographic methodologies in cultural psychology, and for overcoming the present insularity related to disciplinary affiliation of work within this tradition. Theoretical attention centers on the importance of cultural sensitivity, the compatibility of alternative empirical methodologies, and the pragmatic nature of explanation.

The evolution of cultural sensitivity in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 3rd edition ( DSM—III); 3rd edition, Revised (DSM—III—R); and 4th edition (DSM—IV) is described. Five improvements in the DSM—IV are discussed: (a) descriptions of specific cultural features, (b) glossary of culture-bound syndromes, (c) outline of cultural formulation, (d) broader definition of Axis IV, and (e) new “V codes.”

To improve substance abuse treatment efforts, some have suggested that interventions should be adapted to cultural characteristics of target populations [1]. In line with these recommendations, empirical investigations of culturally-tailored interventions for individuals diagnosed with substance use disorders (SUD) have gained momentum. In this commentary, I first present recommendations to improve empirical investigations of substance abuse interventions for lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) individuals who abuse or are dependent on substances. I then argue for increased clinical training in LGB cultural sensitivity to improve substance abuse treatment for LGB clients.