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Addiction Counseling Competencies
Cultural Competency
Clients’ experiences of culture predate and influence their interaction with substance abuse
treatment professionals. The majority of substance abuse treatment counselors are White,
whereas nearly half of people who seek treatment are not White. 1 Regarding mental health
services, clients who are not White express, at much higher rates than do White clients,
the belief that they would have received better treatment if they were of another race. 2
In addition to the references found in the bibliography for Transdisciplinary Foundation IV:
Professional Readiness on pages 32 to 34, three Treatment Improvement Protocols (TIPs)
provide information about cultural competency and substance abuse treatment. The forthcoming
TIP Improving Cultural Competence in Substance Abuse Treatment is wholly devoted to
the subject of culturally competent care. Information about the administrative challenges of
preparing a program to provide culturally competent treatment can be found in chapter 4 of
TIP 46, Substance Abuse: Administrative Issues in Outpatient Treatment, which includes an
appendix listing resources for program assessment and cultural competency training. Chapter
10 of TIP 47, Substance Abuse: Clinical Issues in Intensive Outpatient Treatment, addresses
the clinical implications of culturally competent treatment and includes the following:
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An introduction to current research supporting the need for individualized treatment
that is sensitive to culture
Principles in the delivery of culturally competent treatment services
Topics of special concern, including foreign-born clients, women from other cultures,
and religious considerations
Clinical implications of culturally competent treatment
Sketches of diverse client populations, including Hispanics/Latinos; African Americans;
Native Americans; Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders; persons with HIV/AIDS; lesbian,
gay, and bisexual populations; persons with physical and cognitive disabilities; rural
populations; homeless populations; and older adults
An appendix that lists resources on culturally competent treatment for various
populations.
1
Mulvey, K.P., Hubbard, S., & Hayashi, S. (2003). A national study of the substance abuse treatment workforce.
Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 24:51-57.
2
La Veist, T.A., Diala, C., & Jarrett, N.C. (2000). Social status and perceived discrimination: Who experiences
discrimination in the health care system, how, and why? In C.J.R. Hogue, M.A. Hargraves, & K.S. Collins (Eds.)
Minority Health in America. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 194-208.
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