Skip to main content
ABCT 2023 Annual Convention Main banner
Final Program


Program Flipbook
Icon Legend
This session is not in your schedule.
This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.
Presentation Icons
Ticketed Session
Ticketed Session
Recorded Session
Recorded Session
Back
Evaluation ViewAttendees 2

Category: Schizophrenia / Psychotic Disorders

Symposium 90 - Culturally Adapted Therapies and Risk Factors for Minoritized Groups with Serious Mental Illness

Saturday, November 18, 2023
2:30 PM – 4:00 PM PST
Location: Chiwawa (501), Level 5
CE: 1.5

Keywords: Culture, Psychotherapy Outcome, Severe Mental Illness
Level of Familiarity: Basic to Moderate
Recommended Readings: Kopelovich, S. L., Stiles, B., Monroe-DeVita, M., Hardy, K., Hallgren, K., & Turkington, D. (2021). Psychosis REACH: Effects of a brief CBT-informed training for family and caregivers of individuals with psychosis. Psychiatric Services, 72(11), 1254-1260.,   Brown, C. A., & Weisman de Mamani, A. (2018). The mediating effect of family cohesion in reducing patient symptoms and family distress in a culturally informed family therapy for schizophrenia: A parallel-process latent-growth model. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 86(1), 1.,   Novacek, D. M., LoPilato, A. M., Goines, K. B., Trotman, H. D., Compton, M. T., & Walker, E. F. (2019). Cultural considerations in the treatment of African American youth with attenuated psychosis syndromes: The importance of socio-contextual and clinical factors. Handbook of Attenuated Psychosis Syndrome Across Cultures: International Perspectives on Early Identification and Intervention, 199-218.,   Rogers, M. S., McNiel, D. E., & Binder, R. L. (2019). Effectiveness of Police Crisis Intervention Training Programs. The journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, 47(4), 414-421.,   Sutter, M., & Perrin, P. B. (2016). Discrimination, mental health, and suicidal ideation among LGBTQ people of color. Journal of counseling psychology, 63(1), 98.

Culture plays a role in the presentation, impact, and differential outcomes for people with serious mental illness (SMI) and psychotic spectrum disorders. Research has indicated that cultural adaptations of interventions for SMI hold promise for increased efficacy in minoritized and underserved groups, in part by improving accessibility, relatability, and bolstering existing cultural practices associated with improved mental health outcomes (e.g., collectivism, religiosity). However, despite efforts to improve the availability and relevancy of psychosocial interventions, existing gaps in the literature highlight ongoing systemic barriers that negatively impact the lives of people with SMI.

Racism, mental health stigma, and disenfranchisement are related to poorer quality of care, low treatment seeking, and the exacerbation of symptoms. This necessitates a critical analysis of existing interventions to determine how outcomes may differ across minoritized groups. In addition, psychologists must contend with how clients with SMI may be particularly at risk when they hold additional stigmatized identities. Individuals with SMI and sexual minority individuals are at heightened risk for suicide. Yet, there remains little research investigating how cultural factors may influence suicidality within these groups. Further, research has shown that Black men as well as people with SMI are at increased risk for experiencing violence or death when interacting with the police. Though some police departments have developed SMI training, the implementation is limited in scope.

Within this symposium, our goal is to discuss the development and implementation of culturally adapted therapies. We supplement this with discussion on current gaps in the field, differential treatment outcomes, and present two examples of minoritized groups at increased risk for suicide and violence. First, Ms. McLaughlin will discuss the role of collectivistic behaviors in distress reduction and empirically supported techniques to target collectivistic practices within a group therapy context. Second, Dr. Vaswani-Bye will present a study on Psychosis REACH, a family intervention that was adapted and delivered in Pakistan. In addition to outcome data, she will also note cross-national differences in her findings. Third, Dr. Novacek, will present findings on a first-episode intervention study, examining differences in symptomology and intervention outcomes between Black, Hispanic/Latine and White clients in an intensive outpatient program. Fourth, Ms. Escalante-Saenz will present a study that examined how family rumors differentially impacted the suicidality of sexual minorities and their heterosexual counterparts. Fifth, Dr. Weisman de Mamani will discuss the results of a study that examined factors related to police violence toward Black men with SMI as well as qualitative data that provides suggestions on how to improve these interactions. Finally, Dr. Nuechterlein, our Discussant, will integrate these findings and perspectives, highlighting the effectiveness of existing adaptive interventions as well as discussing important and much needed future research directions.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of the session, the learner will be able to:
  • Identify ways to integrate culturally-sanctioned techniques into existing CBT framework for clients with SMI and their families.
  • Discuss how additional stigmatized identities may influence the severity of suicidality and victimization of clients with SMI.
  • Discuss the process by which existing SMI interventions are adapted internationally and across cultures.
  • Describe how symptomology and intervention outcomes differ across ethnicity in the US and cross-nationally in Pakistan.
  • Discuss how different researchers are approaching ethnic disparities and how to ameliorate them on broad and individual levels.