Culturally Responsive Mental Health Services Aid Youth, Report Finds

Youth-focused mental health services can promote well-being, resilience, and a sense of belong­ing to youths’ larger community, and there is a need for services that are responsive to a young person’s identity and cultural background, a new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation finds. 

Produced by the Center for the Study of Social Policy and based on interviews with 14 commu­nity-based providers who support youth of color, the report, Using Culture to Promote Youth Mental Health and Well-being: Lessons from Community Providers (9 pages, PDF), emphasizes the importance of addressing the effects of marginalization, harmful policies, stigma, and nega­tive experiences with public systems and calls for a holistic approach centered on the cultural values and strengths of young people. According to the report, many organizations emphasized that the strongest proof of effectiveness comes from young people and community members themselves—what researchers call community-defined evidence. 

Recommendations from the report include engaging diverse young people of color and community members to help define effective supports for mental health and well-being; collaborating with youth, providers, and researchers to identify evaluation approaches; creating a public grant program to develop programs and evaluate them equitably; ensuring access to providers of color so young people receive care from professionals who understand their background; and investing in youth-focused supports provided outside of typical clinical settings. 

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Source: Candid