The journey to cultural competency: A commissioner's perspective

Abstract “You can make morefriends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.” Throughout the United States, public mental health systems have for many years professed to provide services that are “consumer oriented.” The author writes that it is time for mental health systems to go beyond the inclusion rhetoric and actualize this important concept. It particularly needs to be actualized in minority populations. Currently, 1 in 4 Americans are nonwhite and/or Latino, and by the year 2050 the United States Census Bureau estimates 1 in 2 Americans will be so. There is growing concern as to whether community support programs are capable of providing culturally and linguistically appropriate and accessible mental health services to individuals, regardless of gender, age, race, sexual orientation, disability, national origin, language, religion, or socioeconomic status.