Clinical Considerations for Intra-Group Differences within the Chinese American Community.

摘要

The myth of "model minority" that has been attributed to Chinese Americans based on their education and economic achievements in the mainstream society often causes the mental health professionals to overlook the issue of underutilization of mental health services in the Chinese American community. Lack of knowledge about Chinese cultural values and demeanor can also contribute to a clinician's failure to timely identify the clinical symptoms of Chinese clients and provide positive therapeutic outcome. It is necessary to increase the cultural awareness and competence of mental health professionals in order to better serve Chinese Americans as well as other ethnic minorities in the United States. Through a critical review of the literature, this doctoral thesis aims to provide mental health professionals with an overview of Chinese culture, values, beliefs, in-group diversity, immigration history as well as clinical consideration in hopes to promote culturally sensitive intervention to this population, increase cultural competence and awareness, and help aid in the development of culturally practical and effective programs for this population. A PowerPoint presentation was also created and distributed to a panel of mental health professionals as a means of disseminating the compiled knowledge. The implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research of this project are discussed at the end of this doctoral thesis.;Keywords: Chinese American, Asian American, immigration, clinical consideration, mental health, model minority, cross-cultural intervention