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Improving Cultural Competency for Behavioral Health Professionals
Learn about your cultural identity and the cultural identities of your clients to improve how you engage, assess, and treat clients from diverse backgrounds.
If you have taken the program in its entirety and need to retake the program, request an email reset at contact@thinkculturalhealth.hhs.gov or 833-485-1664.
Overview
Welcome to Improving Cultural Competency for Behavioral Health Professionals!
How do you use this website?
Take a look at the blue bars at the top of this page.
- On the first bar, clicking your username gives you a menu for viewing your Course completion progress, updating your profile, and logging out.
- On the second bar, clicking Program gives you a link for each of the Courses. Clicking Resources gives you links for the Glossary, References, and Resource Library.
Within a Course, go to the next page by clicking the Next button at the bottom right of each page. You'll also see a menu on the left for navigating to different parts of that Course.
You are required to complete Course 1 in full before going to Courses 2, 3, or 4.
Credit Information
This program is approved for 4 – 5.5 contact hours for counselors, nurses, psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers. Other professionals may earn a Statement of Participation.
Click on each box below for more information.
This program is approved for 5 Contact hours for Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselors
This course has been approved by Cine-Med, Inc., as a NAADAC approved Education for educational credits. NAADAC Provider #78586. Cine-Med, Inc. is responsible for all aspects of programming. This course is approved for 5 Contact hours of continuing education.
Addiction professionals should contact their regulatory boards to determine course approval for continuing education credits or visit NAADAC’s website for CE acceptance information: www.naadac.org/naadac-ce-acceptance
The following state boards accept courses from NAADAC providers for Counselors: AR, AZ, CO, DE, GA, IN, KS, MD, ME, NE, NC, NM, ND, NJ, NV, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, WI, WY
AL / Counselors: Please send course details to your licensing board for approval BEFORE the event.
The following state boards accept courses from NAADAC providers for MFTs: AR, AZ, DE, IN, KS, LA, MD, NC, NE, NJ, NM, NV, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, WI, WY
MA / MFTs: Participants can self-submit courses not approved by the MAMFT board for review.
Counselors
This intermediate self-study activity consists of 5 clock hours of continuing education instruction. Credit requirements and approvals vary per state board regulations. Please save the course outline, the certificate of completion you receive from the activity and contact your state board or organization to determine specific filing requirements.
Marriage & Family Therapists
This self-study activity consists of 5 clock hours of continuing education instruction. Credit requirements and approvals vary per state board regulations. Please save this course outline, the certificate of completion you receive from this self-study activity and contact your state board or organization to determine specific filing requirements.
Original Release Date: May 1, 2019
Last Date of Review: March 1, 2021
Expiration Date: March 31, 2025
Estimated Time to Complete this Activity: 5.0 hours
This program is accredited for 5.5 Contact hours for Counselors and Therapists
The Office of Minority Health (OMH) has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6999. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The Office of Minority Health is solely responsible for all aspects of the program.
This program is accredited for 5 Contact hours for Nurses
In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by Cine-Med and the US Department of Health and Human Services. Cine-Med is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
This program is approved for 5.0 Contact hours for nurses. Please note: Because this program is for independent study, Contact hours earned through this CE are recognized by the State of California Board of Registered Nursing.
Original Release Date: May 1, 2019
Last Date of Review: May 1, 2019
Expiration Date: September 29, 2024
Estimated Time to Complete this Activity: 5.0 hours
Learning Objectives
After completing this continuing education activity, participants will be able to:
- Describe how culture, cultural identity, and intersectionality are related to behavioral health and behavioral health care.
- Describe the principles of cultural competency and cultural humility.
- Discuss how our bias, power, and privilege can affect the therapeutic relationship.
- Discuss ways to learn more about a client's cultural identity.
- Describe how stereotypes and microaggressions can affect the therapeutic relationship.
- Explain how culture and stigma can influence help-seeking behaviors.
- Describe how communication styles can differ across cultures.
- Identify strategies to reduce bias during assessment and diagnosis.
- Explain how to elicit a client's explanatory model.
Goal/Statement of Need
Cultural and linguistic competency is recognized as an important strategy for improving the quality of care provided to clients from diverse backgrounds. This e-learning program is designed to equip behavioral health professionals with the cultural and linguistic competencies to better respect and respond to each client's unique needs.
Target Audience
- Licensed Drug and Alcohol Counselors to NAADAC Licensed Drug and Alcohol Counselors
- NBCC Counselors and Therapists
- Nurses
- Psychiatrists
- Psychologists
- Social workers
- Other direct service providers for behavioral health
How to Obtain Credit
For successful completion of this activity and to obtain Contact hours, the learner must register on this site, review the individual modules/content, obtain a minimum post-test score of 80%, and complete the course evaluation. Certificates and statements of credit are immediately available on the My Progress page.
Original Release Date: May 1, 2019
Last Date of Review: May 1, 2019
Estimated Time to Complete this Activity: 4 – 5.5 hours
Issues
To discuss issues with this program, please contact the ACEP Administrator:
Amanda Gashel
amanda.gashel@gdit.com
Help Desk number is (833) 485-1664
Juliet Bui, MSW, MPA
ACEP Program Administrator
Office of Minority Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
C. Godfrey Jacobs, BA
Senior Program Manager
Health Determinants & Disparities Practice
General Dynamics Information Technology
Jennifer Kenyon, BA
Research Analyst
Health Determinants & Disparities Practice
General Dynamics Information Technology
Karolina Schantz, MPH
Research Analyst
Health Determinants & Disparities Practice
General Dynamics Information Technology
Amanda Gashel, BSN, RN
ACEP Program Administrator
Technical Project Manager
Health Determinants & Disparities Practice
General Dynamics Information Technology
Kameisha L. Bennett, MA
HHS Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Tenly Pau Biggs, MSW, LGSW
HHS Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Joyce P. Chu, PhD
Palo Alto University
Lillian Comas-Diaz, PhD
Transcultural Mental Health Institute
Holly Echo-Hawk
Echo Hawk & Associates
Joseph P. Gone, PhD
University of Michigan
Gordon Nagayama Hall, PhD
University of Oregon
Lisa M. Hooper, PhD
University of Northern Iowa
Mario Hernandez, PhD
University of South Florida
Rachel Kaul, LCSW, CTS
HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response
Frederick Leong, PhD
Michigan State University
Francis Lu, MD, DLFAPA
Kim Professor in Cultural Psychiatry, Emeritus, UC Davis
Francis Lu, MD, DLFAPA
Kim Professor in Cultural Psychiatry, Emeritus, UC Davis
Jeanne Miranda, PhD
University of California – Los Angeles
Roslyn Holliday Moore, MS
HHS Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Patti Rose, EdD
University of Miami
Tonia Schaffer, MPH
HHS Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Erlanger “Earl” Turner, PhD
University of Houston
COURSES
- An introduction to cultural and linguistic competency
- Know thyself – Increasing self-awareness
- Knowing others – Increasing awareness of your client’s cultural identity
- Culturally and linguistically appropriate interventions and services