Culturally Adapted Training for Mental and Behavioral Health Professionals Working with Bipoc Adolescents: A Scoping Review

Background and Purpose: Despite attention to reduce health disparities, health indicators show there are substantial disparities in Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) mental and behavioral health outcomes in the US. Equitable care requires specialize training in services for mental and behavioral health professionals working with BIPOC adolescents for improved access and positive service outcomes. Culturally competence training is critical for equitable mental and behavioral care, for BIPOC adolescents, including culture-specific knowledge, knowledge of structural inequities, and awareness of one’s own culture, values, and biases. Two interrelated factors contributing to inequitable care are limited amount of evidence-based culturally adapted training focused on BIPOC mental and behavioral health and gaps in research focus on BIPOC adolescents’ treatment needs. This review aims to identify research on culturally adapted training for mental and behavioral health professionals working with BIPOC adolescents.

Methods: This scoping review identified current studies through electronic databases including Cochrane Reviews, Campbell Systematic Reviews, Academic Search Complete, SocINDEX, PsycINFO, Social Work Abstracts, PubMed, and Social Science Citation Index using the related search terms black indigenous people of color, BIPOC, youth of color, professional training, mental health, behavioral health, cultur* competen*, cultur* adapted, empirical evidence, experimental, quasi-experimental, randomized controlled trials, qualitative, research.

Inclusion criteria were (1) studies on culturally competence training for mental health and behavioral health professionals working with BIPOC adolescents; (2) English language articles; (3) published articles in peer-reviewed journals; and (4) articles published between 2000 and 2022. Full text of all articles met the inclusion criteria were reviewed for methodological rigor of each study in research design, sample characteristics, sampling method, transparency, and reporting quality. This review used Maryland Scale to assess methodological quality of studies. Two reviewers independently screened articles, extracted, charted, analyzed, and discussed data with the research team until consensus was achieved.

Results: The search first yielded 79 articles of which 63 were excluded based on title and abstract review because those studies did not meet the inclusion criteria. The research team conducted full text review on 16 articles and 6 were excluded because those studies did not specific BIPOC adolescents and/or training for mental and behavioral health professionals. A total of 10 studies were included in the scoping review. Of the included articles, 6 used a qualitative approach and 2 mixed methods. Three investigated the use of cultural adapted training, development, or program evaluation using pre and posttest methods. Themes included adapted training, mental and behavioral health outcomes, substance use issues, health access, sexual and gender minority concerns, and improving services for youth. Targeted groups included Latinx, Asian Americans, MSW students, youth workers, refugees, and migrant populations.

Conclusions and Implications: The findings point to the need for specialize training for professionals working with BIPOC. Incorporating culturally adapted training content may further efforts to increase the delivery of equitable care and cultural competence of mental and behavioral health professionals working with BIPOC adolescents.