Department of Psychiatry, Maple Ridge Mental Health Centre, Canada
Commentary
Assertive Community Treatment Teams in the Canadian Multicultural
Context
Author(s): Tony B. Benning*
The Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) model of care for individuals suffering from severe mental illness has
proven to be successful in affecting a range of positive psychosocial outcomes such as reduced hospitalizations
and improved access to suitable housing and vocational opportunities. As evidenced by a team in inner city Toronto,
an encouraging recent trend has been to adapt ACT design and models of care delivery to the needs of the
increasing cultural diversity that is seen in the Canadian context. That particular model of best practice utilized
various strategies for tailoring care to the needs of the culturally diverse population in Toronto including linguistic
pairing between staff and patients, offering culturally specific psychosocial rehabilitation, and assessing patients’
acculturation status. Adaptability and responsiveness to the culturally .. View More»
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