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S ophia Thompson is Ramsey County’s disorders within the Black community are not always most effective. In this Q&A dialogue, Thompson highlights alternative forms of treatment that are grounded in the culture of this minority group and how formalized sys- tems can adjust to meet these needs. Where do you believe current methods of treatment fall short when serving the Black community? When a person comes into the formalized system, the solution typically is some type of treatment. But there continues to be a stig- ma in the Black community around accepting treatment. Some of what we see within man- dated services is that sending someone to get treatment is the only way to track if they are doing well in their recovery. But it’s proven not to be the most effective way to track if a person is doing well. mental health and adult support direc- tor. She believes traditional methods of treating substance use and mental health

A LENS FOR TREATMENT IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY

From your experience of working with African American clients, where do treatment providers as a whole need to pivot their attention when serving this community? We really do have to look at alternatives to traditional treat- ment. In practice, we call it person-centered treatment. I think that’s great. But we have to think about the cultural aspect as well, whether that is cultural healing or gathering and eating together. The community has shown us where they go for their healing. Sometimes it’s churches or barbershops. Those places aren’t always recognized as forms of healing and sup- port. But when we think about how we transition to support- ing our African American community, we have to think about how we do that in non-traditional ways. How do you think cultural healing can be merged into treatment? The way you merge it is through engagement in the com- munity. Sometimes our assessments can get in the way of a person wanting to receive the treatment they need. They might not want to sit down and do a 40-minute assessment. Healing:

Cultural