NAAPIMHA


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	Workforce Training Grant
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In October, 2002, the National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association, NAAPIMHA, received one of four national Workforce training grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Mental Health Services to help reduce disparities in mental health care for diverse populations by building a workforce capacity. Over 70 organizations submitted a grant proposal. Of the four that were awarded the grant, NAAPIMHA's curriculum is the only one designed to specifically address the mental health needs of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. NAAPIMHA is using this 3-year grant to develop a curriculum and pre-service training program. The Growing Our Own curriculum is the first national effort to specifically develop a core curriculum for the disciplines of psychiatry, psychology, social work and counseling. It draws upon years of experience, assessing what works and what doesn't in providing culturally competent mental health services to the AAPI communities. It is being implemented at the Asian Counseling and Referral Services in Seattle, Washington; the Asian Pacific Development Center in Denver, Colorado; Hamilton Madison House in New York City, New York; Hale Na'au Pono in Wai'anai, Hawaii; and at two sites in San Francisco, California : RAMS, Inc. and The University of California, San Francisco at San Francisco General Hospital. The sites were chosen based on their history of providing culturally competent services and training and their diverse geographical representation. In addition to the curriculum, NAAPIMHA is developing an evaluation design that utilizes Standardized Patient (SP) protocols that can be used to assess the clinical skills of the interns. Often utilized in medical school training, this may be an effective tool in assessing cultural competency for therapists in training. The SP evaluation protocol uses trained actors and scripted vignettes to assess the effectiveness of a training program. The Growing Our Own curriculum is based on the DSM IV Cultural Formulation that provides a rich theoretical framework in making culturally appropriate assessments, diagnosis and treatment plans. The five modules build on each other and are intended to help the intern/resident develop an approach that avoids simplistic cookbook conclusions. The five modules are as follows:
		Module 1 ~ Self Assessment helps interns/residents recognize the biases that influence what we see and how these biases impact our decision making process.
		Module 2 ~ Connecting With Your Client is designed to help trainees become familiar with AAPI in general and provide them with the requisite knowledge, skills and attitudes to communicate effectively with consumers as well as working with interpreters.
		Module 3 ~ Culturally Responsive Assessment and Diagnosis is designed to identify factors that lead to the development of a culturally competent assessment and diagnosis
		Module 4 ~ Culturally Responsive Intervention focuses on concepts and strategies the intern/ resident should consider in formulating and implementing a culturally responsive intervention plan, regardless of the particular intervention model employed.
		Module 5 ~ Culturally Responsive Systems identifies barriers that consumers and service providers face under the current mental health system; highlights the important role of mental health professionals as agents of institutional change; and offers recommendations to help guide culturally competent systems change.

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