Guidelines for Training in Cultural Psychiatry

Cultural diversity is conceptualized in different ways in different countries based on local histories of migration, policies and ideologies of citizenship, and patterns of ethnic identity and social stratification.'317 The Canadian context is distinctive in many ways. Since 1976, Canada has had an official policy of multiculturalism.18 This formally acknowledges and promotes recognition of the diversity of Canadian society as a shared feature of collective identity.19 It reflects and contributes to a social milieu in which attention to culture is positively valued and, indeed, required to respect and respond to individuals and ethnocultural communities. While this fosters a basic level of recognition of diversity, it may have the unintentional effect of downplaying the heterogeneity and diversity subsumed under these major blocs and reinforcing crude stereotypes. [...]education based on broad cultural or geographic groups cannot address the high level of diversity in Canadian contexts, where the demographic composition is generally not that of large ethnocultural blocs but rather many smaller heterogeneous communities, including significant numbers of Aboriginal people and refugees.25 To respond to the diversity in Canada's urban centres, clinicians must develop general strategies for culturally safe, competent and responsive care that can be adapted to work with diverse groups.14 Surveys of training in cultural psychiatry in Canada have revealed uneven development across the country.26 Most Canadian psychiatric residency programs offer very limited exposure to cultural psychiatry.27 This reflects that, to date, regulatory bodies and organizations in Canada have not developed specific guidelines for training or clinical practice in cultural psychiatry.\n Faculty development is critical to the success of die cultural competence training.