422 The Professional Counselor | Volume 13, Issue 4 The CFI, a semi-structured instrument, includes instructions and open-ended questions for clinicians to use. Because of the increasing empirical support for how culture influences each aspect of mental health care (Barragán et al., 2020; Cariello et al., 2020; Driscoll & Torres, 2020), the CFI is ideally utilized during the initial evaluation of any client (DeSilva et al., 2018; Sue et al., 2022); however, the CFI can also be incorporated throughout the counseling process (Ramírez Stege & Yarris, 2017). Although the CFI is the most widely used cultural assessment tool throughout the world (DeSilva et al., 2018; Lindberg et al., 2021), there is a disconnect within counselor education wherein little emphasis exists on training counseling students to properly use this tool despite the profession’s mandate to use evidence-based instruments and interventions. The CFI consists of three components: the core interview, the informant interview, and the supplemental modules (APA, 2013). The core interview totals 16 open-ended questions consisting of four domains: 1) cultural definition of the problem to include the client’s view of their presenting problem; 2) the client’s cultural perceptions of cause, context, and support to clarify what the client and their support group consider the origin of the problem to be and identify the connection between the problem and the client’s cultural identities; 3) cultural factors that affect past self-coping and help-seeking strategies; and 4) cultural factors that affect current help-seeking, including the client’s preferences for future care and concerns about the counselor–client relationship (APA, 2013; DeSilva et al., 2018). The counselor is encouraged to consider and assess how the client’s varying identities influence each domain. Simultaneously, counselors must collaborate with the client to identify the salience and intersection of their specific identities (Aggarwal et al., 2016; Ramírez Stege & Yarris, 2017). The informant version of the interview consists of the four domains in the core CFI and gathers information related to the client and their presenting problem from the perspective of caregivers and other relevant stakeholders (Aggarwal et al., 2015; APA, 2013). The supplementary modules expand on specific subtopics stemming from the four domains in the core and informant components of the CFI. The modules are designed to help counselors conduct a more comprehensive cultural assessment while focusing on specific needs based on identities and resources (Aggarwal et al., 2015; DeSilva et al., 2018). These modules are 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 (APA, 2013). Aggarwal et al. (2016) noted the most common barrier to implementation of the CFI was the perceived lack of conceptual relevance between intervention and problem, while Jones-Smith (2018) highlighted the CFI’s lack of consideration of the embeddedness of the client in their traditional culture. In considering these limitations, researchers have indicated that information obtained from the CFI should be integrated with other clinical material to achieve the aims of the clinical assessment, including culturally valid diagnosis, social history, treatment planning, and patient engagement and satisfaction (DeSilva et al., 2018; Mills et al., 2017). Jarvis et al.’s (2020) review of CFI research reported that the CFI has been shown to clinically enhance the counselor–client relationship and increases counselor cultural sensitivity. They also noted that even mental health providers with limited CFI training demonstrated improved cultural responsivity with clients. Of relevance to Afro Latinx immigrant clients, Jarvis et al. (2020) found research supportive of the CFI’s success with Latinx-identifying clients. Nonetheless, Jarvis et al. indicated that the CFI may not be an ideal assessment for clients experiencing symptoms of psychosis, suicidal ideation, aggression, or cognitive impairment. Though research is mixed, the CFI provides an innovative way to help practicing counselors and CITs become more culturally responsive (Sue et al., 2022). Next, we consider how the CFI may be specifically applicable to clients who identify as Afro Latinx.
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