Culturally Adapted Cognitive-behavior Therapy: Integrating Sexual, Spiritual, and Family Identities in an Evidence-based Treatment of a Depressed Latino Adolescent

The article described and illustrated how a culturally adapted cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) can maintain fidelity to a treatment protocol while allowing for considerable flexibility to address a patient's values, preferences, and context. A manual-based CBT was used with a gay Latino adolescent regarding his sexual identity, family values, and spiritual ideas. The adolescent suffered from a major depression disorder and identified himself as gay and Christian within a conservative and machista Puerto Rican family. CBT promoted personal acceptance and active questioning of homophobic thoughts in a climate of family respect. CBT enabled identity formation and integration, central to the development of a sexual identity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth, with remission of the patient's depression and better family outcomes.