AN INTEGRATIVE APPROACH TO CLINICAL-ASSESSMENT AND INTERVENTION WITH ASIAN-AMERICAN ADOLESCENTS

Straddling multiple cultures, the Asian-American adolescent is confron ted with the complex task of integrating the mainstream culture, the e thnic culture of origin, and the culture of adolescence. Core developm ental issues for these youth, such as identity formation and accultura tion, are complicated by conflicting cultural values and status as a m inority person of color. The negotiation of these developmental issues is often an antecedent to psychological problems. The assessment of t hese clinical problems is facilitated by an integrative ecological app roach that bridges standard and ethnocultural assessment strategies. I n this article, a detailed discussion of this integrative assessment a nd intervention, representing a blend of the cultures, is presented Th is intervention builds upon the concepts of cultural bridging, reframi ng, and brokering, while simultaneously considering the interplay of s ociocontextual and developmental factors in the clinical presentation.