The cultural relevance of community support programs

The research and practice literature was examined to determine whether comm unity support programs are responsive to ethnocultural issues and to derive strategies for developing culturally relevant programming. Great variation exists across cultures in family practices, conceptions of mental illness, stigma attributed to mental illness, and expectations of the provider syst em. Ethnic minority cultures are typically centered on the family, whereas Western European cultures are characterized as more individualistic and as valuing independence. Research shows that some rehabilitation approaches ba sed on Western models may produce adverse effects when used with patients f rom ethnic minority groups. Interventions that incorporate family networks and use group modalities are considered culturally congruent, Clients from sociocentric cultures may have strong support networks and display prosocia l behaviors that can be tapped in the rehabilitation process. Community sup port programs should incorporate cultural factors into psychosocial assessm ents, train staff to conduct ethnographic interviews, and use focus groups to gain an understanding of the cultures of clients they serve.