Youth Mental Health

For many immigrant families, acculturative stress – the stress of adjusting to life in a new culture – can contribute to negative mental health outcomes.  Our two-generation approach to care recognizes the acculturative stress that parents and children face in distinct ways as they constantly navigate between two worlds.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has hit the Latino community particularly hard, with severe impacts on adolescent and young adult mental health. In fact, in 2021 the U.S. Surgeon General issued an Advisory on Protecting Youth Mental Health, calling attention to this urgent public health issue and providing recommendations for addressing it. 

Many of the Advisory’s recommendations – prioritizing prevention; identifying and addressing the mental health needs of parents and caregivers alongside patients; creating multidisciplinary, culturally sensitive, bilingual care teams; and incorporating youth voices into planning and decision-making – are key components of our growing Latino Youth and Adolescent Mental Health Program. 

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