ABSTRACT
Clinical psychology is a field that encompasses the study, treatment, and prevention of psychopathology. It deals with issues concerning assessment; the nature, distribution, and correlates of abnormal behaviors; and psychotherapeutic and prevention interventions. As a field, clinical psychology was established in the United States over a century ago. Much research has accumulated over this time concerning issues in the field. However, research on ethnic minority groups in general and Asian/Pacific Islander (API) Americans in particular has not been well developed. The API-American population is composed of at least 43 distinct groups and the largest groups include Chinese, Filipino, South Asians, Koreans, and Japanese. In this chapter, we examine the research on clinical psychology issues of API Americans and suggest directions for future research and practice with this population. Specifically, we address issues such as the prevalence of mental disorders among this population, correlates of these disorders, adequacy of mental health services, and recommend future tasks that are important in ensuring that the mental health needs of API Americans are adequately met.
