This book is the first authoritative medical text that considers the unique cultural backgrounds of Hispanic populations in a straightforward yet sensitive way, all while building a framework for practical psychiatric assessment and treatment plans. As the only book to consider the unique challenges facing Hispanic mental healthcare, this book is at the forefront of a serious issue that has gone unchallenged for too long. The text is written by two expert psychiatrists with an established history of leadership in this space. Chapters carefully and meticulously establish the issues of access to care in Latinx communities before addressing the unique needs of these patients in the context of common psychiatric disorders. Each disorder includes clinical cases for a reader-friendly approach to the challenges that develop effective assessment and treatment plans. Mental Health for Hispanic Communities is a concise yet comprehensive reference invaluable to all clinicians, students, and other medical professionals seeking to work with this population effectively.

Latinos are the fastest growing and largest minority group in the United States. In 2008, this group numbered over 47 million; by 2050, the population is expected to triple, reaching 133 million. Traditionally, Latinos have immigrated to large urban centers (e.g., New York, Los Angeles) that over long periods of time developed a complex infrastructure to receive new immigrants. Increasingly, new Spanish-speaking immigrants are moving into areas of the country previously unfamiliar to them. Although urban co-ethnic communities continue to be the destination of many newcomers, immigrants from Mexico, Central America, and South America in pursuit of low-skilled labor opportunities are settling in small towns and rural areas of the South and Midwest. This new demographic trend has resulted in the creation of the term "new growth communities," which refers to small rural areas that are now home to a small but rapidly growing Hispanic population. Unfortunately, these communities, which are now present in many states across the country (e.g., Illinois, North Carolina), lack the infrastructure necessary to meet the needs of Latino immigrants (e.g., access to health care, immigration assistance, and breaking down language barriers). The lack of an infrastructure and the lack of an established ethnic community to facilitate the assimilation of new immigrants present an ongoing challenge, especially in the area of Latino mental health. The volume focuses on dealing with systemic issues and on providing innovative ideas for development of infrastructure of services. This text will advance ways to understand and ameliorate mental health disparities both from research and experiential perspectives.

Hispanics and the Future of America presents details of the complex story of a population that varies in many dimensions, including national origin, immigration status, and generation. The papers in this volume draw on a wide variety of data sources to describe the contours of this population, from the perspectives of history, demography, geography, education, family, employment, economic well-being, health, and political engagement. They provide a rich source of information for researchers, policy makers, and others who want to better understand the fast-growing and diverse population that we call "Hispanic." The current period is a critical one for getting a better understanding of how Hispanics are being shaped by the U.S. experience. This will, in turn, affect the United States and the contours of the Hispanic future remain uncertain. The uncertainties include such issues as whether Hispanics, especially immigrants, improve their educational attainment and fluency in English and thereby improve their economic position; whether growing numbers of foreign-born Hispanics become citizens and achieve empowerment at the ballot box and through elected office; whether impending health problems are successfully averted; and whether Hispanics' geographic dispersal accelerates their spatial and social integration. The papers in this volume provide invaluable information to explore these issues.

Depression ranks as a leading mental health problem among Hispanic immigrants and their US-born children. And a wide array of issues - starting with the widespread stereotype of the “illegal immigrant” - makes the Latino experience of this condition differ from that of any other group. Depression in Latinos consolidates the conceptual, diagnostic, and clinical knowledge based on this salient topic, providing coverage from prevalence to prevention, from efficient screening to effective interventions. In this concise yet comprehensive volume, leading clinicians, researchers, and academics offer extensive research and clinical findings, literature reviews (e.g., an in-depth chapter on the Mexican American Prevalence and Services Survey), and insights gathered from first-hand experience in clinical practice. Perceptive information is offered on the most urgent and complex issues on depression in this diverse and dynamic population, including: (1) The impact language, culture, and societal factors have on depression and its diagnosis. (2) The most relevant assessment instruments. (3) How depression manifests among Latino children, youth, and seniors as well as in Latinas. (4) The relationship between depression and substance abuse. (5) The most effective evidence-based treatment methods. (6) The efficacy of interventions for depression at the community level. Depression in Latinos is vital reading for clinicians, counseling and school psychologists, psychiatrists, clinical social workers, and public health professionals interested in providing their Hispanic clients with the most effective treatment possible. In addition, its coverage of the broader issues of access to care makes this volume essential reading for mental health administrators, volunteer/outreach agencies, and policymakers.

Spirit, mind, and heart—in traditional Mexican health beliefs all three are inherent to maintaining psychological balance. For Mexican Americans, who are both the oldest Latina/o group in the United States as well as some of the most recent arrivals, perceptions of health and illness often reflect a dual belief system that has not always been incorporated in mental health treatments. Chicana and Chicano Mental Health offers a model to understand and to address the mental health challenges and service disparities affecting Mexican immigrants and Mexican Americans/Chicanos. Yvette G. Flores, who has more than thirty years of experience as a clinical psychologist, provides in-depth analysis of the major mental health challenges facing these groups: depression; anxiety disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder; substance abuse; and intimate partner violence. Using a life-cycle perspective that incorporates indigenous health beliefs, Flores examines the mental health issues affecting children and adolescents, adult men and women, and elderly Mexican Americans. Through case studies, Flores examines the importance of understanding cultural values, class position, and the gender and sexual roles and expectations Chicanas/os negotiate, as well as the legacies of migration, transculturation, and multiculturality. Chicana and Chicano Mental Health is the first book of its kind to embrace both Western and Indigenous perspectives. Ideally suited for students in psychology, social welfare, ethnic studies, and sociology, the book also provides valuable information for mental health professionals who desire a deeper understanding of the needs and strengths of the largest ethnic minority and Hispanic population group in the United States.

The framework of this book integrates mental health research on Hispanics, and conceptualizes epidemiological and clinical service research as spanning a five-phase temporal sequence. In contrast to the customary reductionist procedures, new ideas are integrated into larger patterns of knowledge.

Save time—inform your clinical planning with core knowledge and tips offered from experienced clinicians! While many Hispanic groups have lived in the mainland United States for years, there now is a growth of new groups, such as Dominicans in New York City and Cuban refugees that are in need of culturally competent mental health care. Mental Health Care for New Hispanic Immigrants: Innovative Approaches in Contemporary Clinical Practice will help mental health clinicians gain insight into essential clinical issues facing those who work with these new immigrants. This text, designed to aid in direct clinical practice, will guide you in the effective delivery of comprehensive psychosocial services. It arms you with the latest demographic information and offers valuable suggestions for treatment in different modalities for under-served Hispanic groups. Mental Health Care for New Hispanic Immigrants: Innovative Approaches in Contemporary Clinical Practice presents insights and practice approaches from respected authorities and explores latest trends on these new populations. You’ll find an in-depth examination of the mental health disparities in Hispanic immigrants, a conceptual overview of reasons for immigration and migration patterns, and a look at the unique stressors new groups face which impact immigrants’ mental health. Detailed data on each group, important highlights of pertinent historical aspects, and in-depth discussions of helpful assessment, treatment, and practice issues provide effective approaches illustrated through discussion and case studies. In Mental Health Care for New Hispanic Immigrants: Innovative Approaches in Contemporary Clinical Practice, you will find: detailed research and clinical information about new immigrant groups explorations of the growth of new groups, such as Dominicans in New York City and Cuban refugees recently reaching the shores of Florida information on psychosocial stressors, psychiatric diagnoses, and utilization of services among undocumented immigrants effective outreach techniques a detailed list of resources including extensive Web sites, national centers for the study of Hispanic groups, and important published works used for research and practice up-to-date demographics on new groups Mental Health Care for New Hispanic Immigrants: Innovative Approaches in Contemporary Clinical Practice brings vital information geared to the direct practice professional in psychology, social work, psychiatric nursing, and psychiatry, as well as graduate-level students in these fields.

Advancing work to effectively study, understand, and serve the fastest growing U.S. ethnic minority population, this volume explicitly emphasizes the racial and ethnic diversity within this heterogeneous cultural group. The focus is on the complex historical roots of contemporary Latino/as, their diversity in skin-color and physiognomy, racial identity, ethnic identity, gender differences, immigration patterns, and acculturation. The work highlights how the complexities inherent in the diverse Latino/a experience, as specified throughout the topics covered in this volume, become critical elements of culturally responsive and racially conscious mental health treatment approaches. By addressing the complexities, within-group differences, and racially heterogeneity characteristic of U.S. Latino/as, this volume makes a significant contribution to the literature related to mental health treatments and interventions.