Coming from my background of privilege as part of the majority culture and not needing to worry where my next meal or place to sleep will be, I realize I have many personal biases that I may not even be aware of. As I went to Mercado Central, I could only quietly take in my surroundings with curiosity and humility. I don’t believe that it would be appropriate for me to assume I should know what I was doing or be boldly confident in my interactions.
A person from the Latino culture, possibly newly immigrating from Central or South America would have a number of barriers to overcome in navigating a mid-western city. Finding a community that has resources and connections with Spanish speaking guides would be essential components for finding housing, jobs, and transportation. A place like the Mercado Central would be an ideal place to find help. A person with English as a second language may have to deal with people in the majority culture seeing an accent as a sign of lack of education and may be treated disrespectfully. Finding a job that pays enough to support a family can also be a challenging task when employers are hesitant to deal with paperwork hurdles.
To assess cultural barriers for a client from a Latino cultural background, I would utilize the Cultural Formulation Interview assessment from the DSM-5 manual (American Psychiatric Association, 2013) to get an understanding of how the client views their presenting problem and to ask how family and cultural views may influence treatment goals. It would be important to ask the client how they view their cultural background and the way it affects their daily interactions.
Some barriers for Latino clients for accessing mental health and/or substance abuse treatment programming would include a lack of Spanish speaking providers, inadequate insurance coverage, immigration status issues, and fears of discrimination (SAMSHA, 2014). As a provider, I want to expand my understanding of cultural issues facing my clients and I feel it will be very important for me to work on my Spanish language skills to enhance my future practice.
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.).
SAMHSA, (2014). Improving Cultural Competence. Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) #59.
HHS Publication No. (SMA) 14-4849.
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