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This article presents the recently created intercultural consultation at the Medical and Psychological Health Care Service (CMP) of the University Hospital la Grave at Toulouse. The approach of the intercultural consultation was elaborated in response to the increasing diversity of children and families using the service in Toulouse. It is also based on local research that indicates the difficulties service providers encounter when trying to establish a solid therapeutic alliance with families with complex migration backgrounds who accumulate different disadvantaging factors. The intercultural consultation adapts existing models of culture-sensitive consultations in child mental health care in France and Canada to the local context in Toulouse. We describe the underlying principles of the intercultural consultation work, the therapeutic and mediation techniques used, and the way the work is integrated into the global service provision of the CMP. The process is illustrated with a case study followed by a discussion of the innovations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) is a questionnaire widely used for detecting anxiety and depressive disorders. It is used extensively in France, but has never been the subject of a full study in a population at work. The objectives of this study were to present some psychometric properties of the HADS on a large sample of French employees. Method The HADS questionnaire was given to salaried employees at 19 major French companies as part of their biennial occupational medical examination. In 2011, 20992 employees filled in the questionnaire. HADS's structure was studied first by exploratory, then confirmatory factorial analyses. Results The model selected was the original two-factor structure. The two subscales showed good internal consistency. Women scored higher than the men for anxiety and depression; the scores increased with age; engineers and managers had lower average scores than other occupational status (blue- or white-collar workers and technicians). Conclusion The results of the analyses are consistent with those in literature relating to other populations studied in other countries. The HADS questionnaire is pertinent for detecting symptoms of anxiety and depression in a population of people at work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]