Psychology

Introduction to special issue on evidence-based treatments with Latinas/Os: Attending to heterogeneity

Document Type

Article

Abstract

Despite the growth in research attesting to the efficacy of psychotherapy, and especially evidence-based psychotherapy (EBP), there remain significant gaps in our knowledge regarding their efficacy with Latinas/os. In particular, very little is known regarding the specific contexts in which EBPs might be effective (or not) with Latinas/os. Part of the explanation for these gaps in our knowledge base is due to the fact that most manualized EBPs do not adequately attend to the within-group variability that exists among Latinas/os, and instead take a one-size-fits-All approach. In this Special Issue on Evidence-Based Treatments for Latino/as, we present the work from five research teams that underscores the heterogeneity among Latinas/os in their efforts to develop and evaluate their interventions. Importantly, they do so in quite different ways. Some of the teams make minimal adaptations to standard interventions, because the standard intervention has already shown positive effects with Latina/o samples. Others make more extensive efforts to incorporate culturally relevant considerations into their interventions. Together, they represent a diverse range of approaches that can serve as guides in our efforts to identify which types of EBPs work for which Latino/as with which characteristics.

Publication Title

Journal of Latina/o Psychology

Publication Date

2017

Volume

5

Issue

4

First Page

243

Last Page

247

ISSN

2168-1678

DOI

10.1037/lat0000103

Keywords

evidence-based treatment, Hispanic/Latino, mental health, psychosocial

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