![Sample our Social Sciences journals, sign in here to start your FREE access for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/110822/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Social-Sciences.jpg"})
ABSTRACT
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, and asexual people of color (LGBTQIA-POC) represent a unique community of individuals with diverse and intersectional identities. Groups such as these serve to remind mental health clinicians of the ever-increasing complexity of identity dynamics within the populations they treat. Unfortunately, the diversity of clinician identities continues to lag behind the general population, leading to frequent cultural mismatching in patient/clinician relationships. When this occurs, the likelihood for miscommunication and subpar treatment increases, worsening the health disparities that already exist between these populations and the dominant cultural groups. When faced with the reality of this dilemma, clinicians may find themselves feeling unprepared to help correct this imbalance in patient care. The goal of this article is to provide education to mental health clinicians regarding strategies and tools which will allow for improved cross-cultural assessment and treatment planning. The hope is that, with appropriate training, any clinician can overcome the barriers of cultural differences to form trusting and beneficial relationships with a diverse range of patient populations.
Disclosure
The author has no conflicts to disclose.