6 TPC Digest 6 TPC Digest Kirsis Allennys Dipre, Diana Gallardo, Susan F. Branco, Ladylanis Grullon Cepeda A fro Latinx immigrants are a growing subgroup among Latinx populations in the United States. Their intersecting racial and immigrant status identities expose them to interlocking oppression that negatively impacts their overall health and wellness. Members of this subgroup are subjected to immigration challenges, including acculturation, stigma, hostility toward Latin immigrants in the United States, potential fear of deportation, and language acquisition. In addition to immigration-related challenges, Afro Latinx immigrants encounter marginalization in multiple areas, including colorism, internalized racism, and the subsequent racial discrimination perpetuated by those within and outside their Latinx communities. The compounded impact of such challenges results in poorer physical and mental health outcomes for Black or darker-skinned Latinx persons compared to light-skinned Latinx persons. Yet, Afro Latinx immigrants are often rendered invisible within the larger Latinx population, leaving counselors unprepared to properly address the unique needs of this population. The Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies (MSJCC) not only provide a framework for professional counselors to identify culturally responsive interventions unique to client needs, engage in advocacy efforts, and consider marginalized and privileged identities, but also call for counselors to provide culturally competent and sensitive counseling services. Specifically, counselors are called to implement culturally responsive andragogy within counselor training and supervision via empirically validated tools and interventions. One such tool is the Cultural Formulation Interview (CFI). In this article, the authors use the CFI as a tool to support counselors in assessment and conceptualization of Afro Latinx clients within a culturally responsive framework. The authors suggest the CFI is a helpful assessment to use when working with Afro Latinx immigrant clients. The CFI, first included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in 2013, is a guide for how practitioners can engage in culturally responsive mental health assessments. The CFI contains three versions: the core interview, the informant interview, and the supplemental modules. The core interview is divided into 16 semi-structured questions within four domains, while the informant interview is divided into 17 semi-structured questions within the same four domains. The 12 supplemental modules allow for in-depth assessment and gather information on the following four domains: 1) the client’s cultural view of the problem, 2) the client’s perception of the cause and context of the problem and supports in place, 3) cultural components that impact current and past coping and help-seeking strategies, and 4) the client’s future help-seeking and counselor relationship concerns. The 12 supplemental modules include: 1) the explanatory model; 2) level of functioning; 3) social network; 4) psychosocial stressors; 5) spirituality, religion, and moral traditions; 6) cultural identity; 7) coping and help seeking; 8) clinician–parent relationship; 9) school-age children and adolescents; 10) older adults; 11) immigrants and refugees; and 12) caregivers. The authors provide a fictitious case study, featuring an Afro Latinx immigrant client, with example counselor interventions guided by the CFI and the MSJCC. Counselor educators, counselors-in-training, and practicing counselors are called to increase awareness of the unique circumstances of Afro Latinx immigrant clients and familiarize themselves with how to implement the CFI clinically. The authors argue the CFI needs to be more prominently infused in counselor education, supervision, and practice. Kirsis Allennys Dipre, PhD, NCC, is a core faculty member at The Family Institute at Northwestern University. Diana Gallardo, PhD, NCC, is an assistant professor at Northeastern Illinois University. Susan F. Branco, PhD, LPC, LCPC, is an associate professor at Palo Alto University. Ladylanis Grullon Cepeda, MA, LPC-A, is a doctoral student at Walden University. Correspondence may be addressed to Kirsis A. Dipre, 618 Library Place, Evanston, IL 60201, kdipre@family-institute.org. Using the Cultural Formulation Interview With Afro Latinx Immigrants in Counseling A Practical Application
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