Cross-cultural community-based interventions: capturing belonging and building resilience between race, culture, and mental health

Community-based interventions (CBIs) are powerful tools that can influence population-level change, particularly on the front of mental wellness and disease prevention. In this session, diverse examples of CBIs ranging from affinity groups to podcast production will be presented to inspire interest in and adoption of CBIs. Presentations will discuss how experiences associated with race, culture, immigration, acculturative stressors, and intergenerational trauma influence mental health in children, families, adolescents, and transitional-aged youth (TAY). We hope to showcase how CBIs can address these stressors through community building, acquisition of healthy coping skills, and reduction of stigma associated with mental health in a culturally informed manner. This session includes 4 presentations centered on CBIs that have been implemented across the United States, spanning various creative delivery methods, including: 1) a multimedia-based intergenerational trauma healing program for adolescents and families using improvisational theater and animation; 2) a film-based youth peer support group for developing cultural humility and reducing implicit bias; 3) social media dissemination of lessons supporting mental health in Afro-Caribbean immigrant families; and 4) Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) student affinity groups on culture and mental health. These presentations will utilize lecture-style presentations with active learning techniques followed by discussion to engage the audience. Through quantitative and qualitative data collected from program participants and community stakeholders, these interventions have proven to be effective in teaching management of acculturative stressors and trauma, identity building, openness to individuals from different racial and cultural backgrounds, resistance against racism, and improved relational skills. Creative interventions that harness digital methods and social media are particularly suited to adolescents, TAY, and their families who may feel apprehensive about discussing mental health in traditional ways. These presentations showcase the utility of CBIs in building healing platforms that bridge psychoeducation and mental health awareness across racial and ethnic groups, resulting in community healing and overall improved mental health.