Introduction from the new editor

The new editor of the Journal of Latina/o Psychology provides a brief review of the history and recent accomplishments of the journal and identifies a number of priorities for the next few years. These priorities include expanding the topics covered, soliciting special issues, and fortifying the editorial board. The editorial concludes with a list of recommendations for potential authors

Culturally sensitive treatments: Need for an organizing framework

To date, descriptions of culturally sensitive therapies have insufficiently acknowledged the heterogeneity of perspectives on the role of culture in therapy. The generally homogeneous manner in which advocates of culturally sensitive therapies have described this work has likely contributed to the mainstream\u27s slow acceptance of the importance of culture. In this article, I propose an organizing framework that may help recognize the diversity of viewpoints regarding what constitutes culturally sensitive therapy. It is my hope that this framework, along with critical self-evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the various perspectives, will lead to more rapid incorporation of culture across treatments. Copyright © 2008 SAGE Publications

Evidence-based practice in a global context

This commentary examines how the adoption of benchmarking can promote the internationalization of evidence-based practice. Given the increasing evidence documenting the role of culture and context in the shaping of experiences and expressions of distress, as well as influencing attitudes and conceptions of mental health services, benchmarking may not represent the best approach to addressing global public health agendas. A brief overview of the sequential approach to developing, evaluating, and disseminating treatments in novel cultural contexts is presented, in which benchmarking can play an important, albeit secondary role. It is argued that in a global context, benchmarking\u27s role may better function to promote dissemination within particular contexts, rather than between them

Parent-child communication and parental involvement in latino adolescents

This study examines the associations among parent-child relationship characteristics, acculturation and enculturation, and child externalizing symptoms in a sample of 40 Latino parent-adolescent dyads. Specifically, the associations between parent-child relationship characteristics (i.e., communication and parental involvement) and adolescents\u27 externalizing symptoms are examined. Also examined is whether the relationship between these two aspects of the parent-child relationship and adolescent functioning would be moderated by acculturation and enculturation differences between parents and their children. Significant relationships are found among parent-child communication, parental involvement, and child externalizing behaviors; however, neither the acculturation nor enculturation gap moderates these associations. © 2009 Sage Publications

Psychotherapy for chronic depressive disorders

Considerable research has demonstrated the efficacy of a wide range of different psychotherapies for acute major depression, including individual psychotherapies [1,2], group psychotherapies [3,4] and marital/family treatments [5,6]. Knowledge regarding the efficacy of psychosocial treatments for chronic depressive disorders, however, is lacking, as few studies have explicitly examined the efficacy of psychotherapy for them [7]. Moreover, with a few notable exceptions (e.g., see Ref. 8), the small sample sizes and methodological limitations in these studies constrain our ability to draw firm conclusions regarding the efficacy of individual psychotherapy as the sole treatment for chronic depressive disorders

Family functioning and depression in low-income latino couples

Although extensive research has found a strong relationship between poor family functioning and depression, previous research has not examined this relationship among low-income Latinos. In this study, we examined how family functioning may be associated with depression in a sample of low-income Latino couples. In addition, we examined how acculturative stress moderates the relationship between family functioning and depression. Our results indicate that the relationship between family functioning and depression is stronger in women and that acculturative stress moderates this relationship in women. Probing this interaction indicates that women who reported high acculturative stress coupled with poor family functioning experienced more depression. Clinical implications are discussed. © 2009 American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy

Guess who\u27s coming to therapy? Getting comfortable with conversations about race and ethnicity in psychotherapy

Despite the fact that clinical psychology training programs now typically offer course work in multicultural issues, many professional psychologists may continue to feel unsure about how and when to incorporate multicultural awareness into their everyday clinical work. Having open discussions with clients regarding issues of race and ethnicity is one way to actively include a multicultural element into psychotherapy, as well as to strengthen the therapeutic alliance and promote better treatment outcome. The authors make several recommendations designed to provoke thought and stimulate conversation about race and ethnicity in the context of psychotherapy

Racial and ethnic disparities in depression treatment

Over 20 years of research have documented racial and ethnic disparities in depression treatment. To date, however, this research has not led to substantive improvements. In this article, the authors argue for a broader perspective on disparities that encompass individual-level help-seeking processes in addition to the more traditional structural-level analyses. Cultural and contextual factors influence the entire range of help-seeking behaviors, from initial expressions and conceptualizations of distress, to perspectives on depression and depression treatment, to experiences with depression treatment. Understanding these influences, and their connections to the persistent disparities affecting racial and ethnic minorities, offers clinicians and researchers opportunities for targeted interventions that have potential to improve quality healthcare for all

Introduction to special issue on evidence-based treatments with Latinas/Os: Attending to heterogeneity

Despite the growth in research attesting to the efficacy of psychotherapy, and especially evidence-based psychotherapy (EBP), there remain significant gaps in our knowledge regarding their efficacy with Latinas/os. In particular, very little is known regarding the specific contexts in which EBPs might be effective (or not) with Latinas/os. Part of the explanation for these gaps in our knowledge base is due to the fact that most manualized EBPs do not adequately attend to the within-group variability that exists among Latinas/os, and instead take a one-size-fits-All approach. In this Special Issue on Evidence-Based Treatments for Latino/as, we present the work from five research teams that underscores the heterogeneity among Latinas/os in their efforts to develop and evaluate their interventions. Importantly, they do so in quite different ways. Some of the teams make minimal adaptations to standard interventions, because the standard intervention has already shown positive effects with Latina/o samples. Others make more extensive efforts to incorporate culturally relevant considerations into their interventions. Together, they represent a diverse range of approaches that can serve as guides in our efforts to identify which types of EBPs work for which Latino/as with which characteristics