Cultural Competency is our Specialty

The Harm Reduction Therapy Center (HRTC) has been engaged by the Community Behavioral Health Services (CBHS) to deliver a series of trainings in San Francisco on the topic of Cultural Sensitivity.

Funded by Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), the project’s goal is to deliver 16 trainings in 2010-2011 aimed to improve the CBHS workforce’s understanding of the cultural & linguistic issues and needs that affect recovery and resil-iency, and improve access to mental health services, for the following ethnic and cultural groups: African Ameri-cans; Latinos/as; Asians and Pacific Islanders; Native Americans; Russians; Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex and Questioning (LGBTQIQ) consumers; Transitional Age Youth; and Older Adults.

Due to our strengths as service providers with special focus in cultural competence with the A&PI and Russian-speaking communities, RAMS was tapped to provide two of these culturally-focused trainings: one focused on A&PI-Americans, and one focused on the Russian-speaking population.

The first training, "It Takes a Village: Culturally Sensitive and Community-Based Approaches in working with Asian & Pacific Islander Americans ", took place on May 20, 2010. Through didactic and case examples, presenters from RAMS provided an overview of cultural & clinical issues and current trends in working with the Asian & Pacific Islander community, including: Cultural Factors in Assessment; Culturally Adapting Psychotherapy; Domestic Violence; Problem Gambling; and working with Asian immigrant youth in school-based setting. Attendees were trained on how culture can affect the presentation of mental illness.

The second training, "Current Perspectives: Working with the Russian-speaking Community". was held on June 10, 2010. Through didactic and case examples, presenters from RAMS provide an overview of cultural & clinical issues and current trends in working with the Russian-speaking population, including: Nostalgia: Complex Reactions to Immigration; Psychiatric Care & Cultural Factors; Ethnocultural Factors in Substance Use/Abuse Counseling; and Wellness Practices. The Russian-speaking community constitute a significant & diverse racial group and it is critical that service providers have the under-standing of the cultural & clinical implications in serving this community. The Russian-speaking immigrants from the former Soviet Union often face challenges due to language & cultural differences and immigration issues, in obtaining behavioral health and social services.

With over 30 years of experience providing culturally competent services to the community, RAMS continues to play a key role in defining and implementing culturally competent mental health and integrated behavioral health services in San Francisco. The agency's philosophy of care reflect values that recovery & rehabilitation are more likely to occur where the mental health systems, services, and providers have and utilize knowledge and skills that are culturally competent and compatible with the backgrounds of consumers and their families and communities, at large.

Click HERE to read more about our Cultural Competence Philosophy and Practices.