Addressing Cultural Complexities in Practice: Assessment, Diagnosis, and Therapy

This engaging book helps readers move beyond one-dimensional conceptualizations of identity to an understanding of the complex, overlapping cultural influences that form each of us. Pamela Hays' "ADDRESSING" framework enables therapists to better recognize and understand cultural influences as a multidimensional combination of Age, Developmental and acquired Disabilities, Religion, Ethnicity, Socioeconomic status, Sexual orientation, Indigenous heritage, Native origin, and Gender. Unlike other books on therapy with diverse clients, which tend to focus on working with one particular ethnic group, Addressing Cultural Complexities in Practice presents a framework that can be used with a person of any cultural identity. This second edition has been updated throughout and has new sections on cross-cultural assessment of trauma, on psychotherapy with people living in poverty, and on ethical boundaries and complex relationships in rural and minority communities. A special section describes how to integrate cultural considerations into the evidence-based practice of cognitive-behavioral therapy. Organized according to the flow of clinical work (in contrast to the one chapter-per-group approach), the book's contents are summarized in handy Key Tables at the end of each chapter for ease of use in education and supervision. This stimulating book will be an important resource for counselors, clinicians, and mental health professionals working with clients from a variety of backgrounds.