Latino Community Mental Health. Monograph No. 1.

This document reports on the results of the Latino Task Force, chartered for the purpose of identifying the mental health problems of the Latino community, identifying potential causes and evaluating the relevance and effectiveness of existing mental health services, in order to formulate viable recommendations for community mental health research and training. Topics focused on are: the sources and nature of Latino problems, Latino social structure, the influence of cultural conflicts and oppression on mental health, Latino psychic structure, present-day mental health service delivery systems, professional personnel and indigenous resource personnel staffing procedures, inservice training, reorientation of mental health professions, alternative training methods, curriculum, research, and accreditation. The report concludes with a set of recommendations for training of personnel that would establish an effective mental health service program, staffed with empathetic professional, paraprofessional, and indigenous personnel trained to cope with Latino mental health requirements in a nonstress producing environment. (Author/AM)