1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«This chapter will discuss the use of cultural consultation in general hospital psychiatry, focusing on the ways in which the context of the emergency room and inpatient wards influences the types of problems referred and the logistics of cultural consultation. I will illustrate how to use cultural consultation in these challenging settings to promote more accurate and comprehensive assessment and culturally appropriate interventions.» (p. 291)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
Données documentaires diverses

Type de traitement des données :
Réflexion critique

3. Résumé

«Cultural consultations in hospital settings may be especially difficult to carry out because of time constraints, confined or awkward interviewing space, lack of language interpreters, and the severity of psychiatric illness in hospitalized patients. […] Given the time pressure inherent to emergency care, basic elements of cultural consultation, including the use of language interpreters and culture brokers, maybe difficult to implement systematically. […] Inpatient services, on the other hand, although lacking in privacy and preoccupied by the discharge of patients, may allow a more systematic approach to the assessment of cultural factors in the diagnosis and treatment of patients. […] Family or community members may be brought to provide additional information or contribute to discharge treatment planning. Successful consultation with inpatients requires close collaboration with the treatment team.» (p. 309) The author notes that «[t]here are many reasons for using professional interpreters rather than family members or other volunteers: Family or others may not know how to translate language affected by severe symptoms, such as psychosis, and may be disturbed by reports of suicidal ideation, marital infidelity, or domestic abuse; family or others may be embarrassed by personal material about sexuality or other issues brought forward in the interview and may elect not to translate items that they feel should remain private; and, at times, family members are directly implicated as causes of the patient’s distress, as in cases of domestic violence.» (p. 294-295)