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Vol 34, (4):213-304

Managing mental illness in patients from CALD backgrounds

Litza A Kiropoulos, BEd-Sc, BSc (Hons) Psych, MClinPsych, PhD (Psych), is a Research Fellow, Department of General Practice, Monash University, Victoria.

Grant Blashki, MD, FRACGP, is Senior Research Fellow, Department of General Practice, Monash University, Victoria, and Honorary Senior Lecturer, Health Services Research Department, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London.

Steven Klimidis, BSc (Hons) Psych, PhD (ClinPsych), is Associate Professor and Research Co-ordinator, Centre for International Mental Health, University of Melbourne and Victorian Transcultural Psychiatry Unit, Victoria.

BACKGROUND Australian general practitioners are often the first point of call for people seeking mental health care including those from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds, some of whom may be more at risk of having a mental illness but are failing to access the appropriate mental health care.

OBJECTIVE This article is intended to assist GPs in the recognition, diagnosis and management of mental illness in patients from CALD backgrounds by providing current research evidence and presenting some practical recommendations. More attention is paid to the larger CALD populations such as the southern European and Asian communities, and does not deal with indigenous Australians.

DISCUSSION There is an increasing call for GPs to have a key role in the detection, diagnosis and management of mental illness, including for patients from CALD backgrounds. Effective care requires that GPs are aware of, and understand how culture may influence recognition, diagnosis and management of mental illness in this group of patients.

Last Modified: 30 March 2005
Authorised By: Australian family physician