Based on cultural strengths, a school primary prevention program for Asian-American youth

As Asian-American mental health workers in a community mental health center where there is very little being done to provide appropriate services to its Asian-American population, we felt a need to find effective mental health models for the unique cultural and linguistic characteristics of our people. The high-school primary prevention program described in this paper provides Filipino youth with a positive view of their cultural identity and a supportive place to examine how their cultural values and behavior differ from those of mainstream Americans. Recognizing that ethnic minorities need to rely on their own subculture for the kind of psychological and social support required for a positive mental health, the program is aimed at mobilizing the strengths and resources of that particular subculture. In this way, its members can more effectively cope with the larger culture.