Initial outcomes of a culturally adapted behavioral activation for Latinas diagnosed with depression at a community clinic.

Kanter et al. (2010) tested a short form of behavioral activation made for Latinas with depression.

Therapists spoke Spanish and wove in Latino values like family and faith.

They ran the group at a community clinic and tracked who stayed and who felt better.

More women finished the full course than in typical clinic care.

Mood scores moved in the right direction after the weekly sessions.

The team called the results promising but said bigger trials were still needed.

Vargas Londono et al. (2024) later showed the same idea works for autism. They gave BST in Spanish to Latino caregivers over Zoom and saw faster skill gains and bigger smiles.

Neely et al. (2020) echoed the theme in schools. They added Latino examples to teacher coaching and watched fidelity climb.

Sivaraman et al. (2020) stretched the model to India. A short culturally tuned parent training there also lifted skills and won high praise.

Together these papers say: speak the family’s language, honor their values, and behavioral interventions get both better buy-in and better outcomes.

If you serve Spanish-speaking clients, ask what they value most. Fold those pieces into your BST or parent training. Even small tweaks—using abuela instead of grandma, or citing faith when setting goals—can keep families coming back and speed their progress.