Strategies for incorporating culture into psychosocial interventions for youth of color

This review summarized the literature on psychosocial interventions for youth of color. Ninety-three journal articles of randomized clinical trials, with samples comprised of youth of color, published between 1974 and 2018 were coded for sample characteristics, intervention characteristics, and strategies for incorporating culture into psychotherapy. Results found 69 psychosocial interventions to be efficacious for youth of color; 32% of these psychosocial interventions included a strategy for incorporating culture into psychotherapy. The evidence base was largest for Black and Hispanic/Latinx populations and for psychosocial interventions targeting disruptive behavior problems. The most common strategies for incorporating culture into treatment among effective psychosocial interventions were employing procedures for addressing cultural context and including providers with awareness and knowledge of the client’s culture. The inclusion of strategies for incorporating culture was not associated with treatment efficacy. Findings from this review highlight the laudable efforts that have been made to identify efficacious psychosocial interventions for youth of color and illuminate remaining gaps in the evidence base (e.g., efficacious psychosocial interventions for Asian, Native American and Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander youth). Findings also emphasize the nuance of providing effective mental health services that are compatible with client’s cultural worldviews, values, and practices and allude to the promise of decision support tools to help providers determine whether, when, and how to culturally tailor their psychotherapy with youth of color.