Culturally Responsive Scalable Mental Health Interventions: A Call to Action

ABSTRACT

For decades, the field of psychology has been calling for culturally responsive interventions, developed with and for diverse populations. COVID-19 has highlighted the utility of digital and scalable minimally guided mental health interventions for helping individuals who lack access to or desire traditional face-to-face services. However, many of these interventions lack research that supports their efficacy. Moreover, the interventions with empirical support tend to derive that support from studies with small sample sizes and limited diversity. These limitations may lend to more cultural mistrust regarding mental health services in communities that are already underserved. In this paper we argue for specific considerations when developing and adapting minimally guided digital scalable mental health interventions as well as propose some frameworks that may be helpful for those developing and adapting these interventions.