Cultural Adaptation of the ACT Guide for Immigrant Community Members

Undocumented immigrants face many challenges that can harm their mental health, such as anti- immigrant policies, the threat of deportation, and difficulty accessing mental health care. Online mental health programs can make mental health care more accessible. The ACT Guide is a self-paced online tool designed to help with anxiety and depression. While it has mainly been used by white college students, similar ACT-based programs have been effective for diverse communities worldwide. The first paper was focused on gathering feedback from community members and Latine psychologists. This was done in partnership with United We Dream (UWD) and the Latinx Immigrant Health Alliance (LIHA). Their feedback was used to make changes to the ACT Guide to make it more relatable and effective for undocumented young adults. The second paper was focused on testing the changed ACT Guide with a group of undocumented young adults. The results showed that it helped reduce depression, anxiety, stress, and feelings of being disconnected from personal values. These findings suggest that the changed ACT Guide could be a useful and accessible mental health resource for undocumented communities.