The Professional Counselor | Volume 13, Issue 4 421 Cultural Formulation Interview The CFI was first included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013) to guide clinicians on how to conduct a cultural assessment in routine mental health settings (Aggarwal et al., 2015; DeSilva et al., 2018). Table 1 reflects the three versions of the CFI counselors may use with clients and their families. Each version of the CFI aligns with the four core elements of the MSJCC. A crucial prerequisite for conducting a cultural assessment, in tandem with use of the CFI, involves counselor receptiveness and capacity to engage in ongoing self-awareness (Ratts et al., 2016). The CFI helps counselors to culturally conceptualize the client’s presenting problem within systems of culture, oppression, and support. In so doing, the counselor may incorporate the client’s salient intersecting and marginalized identities into their clinical portrait while also maintaining attentiveness to their own personal and professional biases. Table 1 The Cultural Formulation Interview CFI Version Applicability Core Components Core interview To use upon intake with a client 16 semi-structured questions within 4 cultural domains: 1) Problem formulation 2) Perceptions of problem 3) Coping & help-seeking factors 4) Past coping & help-seeking factors Informant interview To use with client’s family members or significant others after initial intake (with client permission) 17 semi-structured questions within 4 Cultural domains: 1) Problem formulation 2) Perceptions of problem 3) Coping & help-seeking factors 4) Past coping & help-seeking factors Supplemental modules To explore subtopics of core domains in more detail 12 supplemental modules: 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 12) Caregivers
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