June 25, 2019

The HHS Office of Minority Health (OMH) announced a new, free and accredited e-learning program: Improving Cultural Competency for Behavioral Health Professionals. The program, available via OMH’s Think Cultural Health website, is designed to develop behavioral health providers’ knowledge and skills related to culturally and linguistically appropriate services (CLAS).

OMH encourages all certified counselors, nurses, psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers to take this program and earn up to five continuing education credits at no cost. The program is particularly timely for professionals working to address the opioid epidemic among racial and ethnic minority populations, who have low treatment rates and some of the highest rates of opioid misuse and overdose.

The program’s 4 courses cover:

• Connections between culture and behavioral health
• The impact of cultural identity on interactions with clients
• Ways to engage, assess, and treat clients from diverse backgrounds

More info on the program is available here.