Enhancing mental health service delivery to ethnically diverse populations: Introduction to the special series.

Abstract

The American Psychological Association's adoption of guidelines for providing psychological services to diverse populations and the enactment by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of regulations that required the representation of women and ethnic minorities in NIH-funded research projects called attention to the need to improve mental health services for ethnically diverse populations. This special series illustrates the relevance of cultural and ethnic factors in addressing contemporary mental health needs and the role of these factors in the work of clinicians who serve ethnically diverse clinical populations. The articles comprising the series examine the mental health dimensions of five contemporary clinical practice issues: HIV/AIDS, eating disorders, hate crimes, folk healing, and youth at high risk for drug abuse.