Integrating cultural and linguistic considerations in our mental health services requires shifts in values, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. If we are truly invested in improving the client’s experience as they enter our organizations and in creating equitable systems for services, we need to be open to changes. We can all lead and engage in a change process to integrate cultural and linguistic considerations into our policy, infrastructure, workforce, community engagement, and programs and services.

Presenters Suganya Sockalingam and Annie Guo VanDan (Pacific Southwest MHTTC) provide a conceptual foundation of the importance of culture, including definitions, frameworks, and concepts. We look at a self-assessment tool to examine cultural and linguistic competence (CLC) in our organization, and we explore the leadership required to motivate and integrate CLC into systems and service delivery.

Participants will:

1. Recognize and explain the importance of culture and language in mental health services.
2. Use CLC strategies to meet the needs of culturally diverse populations.
3. Identify ways participants can lead (promote) CLC in service delivery.
4. Explore ways to make the CLC change stick!

Audience: Mental health services program directors, administrators, providers, and other personnel involved in mental health services and supports.