EPA guidance on cultural competence training

Abstract

The stress of migration as well as social factors and changes related to the receiving society may lead to the manifestation of psychiatric disorders in vulnerable individuals after migration. The diversity of cultures, ethnicities, races and reasons for migration poses a challenge for those seeking to understand how illness is experienced by immigrants whose backgrounds differ significantly from their clinicians. Cultural competence represents good clinical practice and can be defined as such that a clinician regards each patient in the context of the patient's own culture as well as from the perspective of the clinician's cultural values and prejudices. The EPA Guidance on cultural competence training outlines some of the key issues related to cultural competence and how to deal with these. It points out that cultural competence represents a comprehensive response to the mental health care needs of immigrant patients and requires knowledge, skills and attitudes which can improve the effectiveness of psychiatric treatment. To reach these aims, both individual and organizational competence are needed, as well as teaching competence in terms of educational leadership. The WPA Guidance on Mental Health and Mental Health Care for Migrants and the EPA Guidance on Mental Health Care for Migrants list a series of recommendations for policy makers, service providers and clinicians; these are aimed at improving mental health care for immigrants. The authors of this paper would like to underline these recommendations and, focusing on cultural competency and training, believe that they will be of positive value.

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