Despite widespread political support for recognizing and addressing the special mental health needs of culturally and linguistically distinct communities, relatively little has been documented about the specific needs of these groups. State government units, community organizations and services tasked with implementing broad policies have very little information on which to formulate strategies. A review of the literature on needs reveals a tension between the ‘top-down’ definitions of what has been termed ‘thin’ needs – such as evidence of higher rates of mental health problems or lower rates of utilization, and ‘thick’ needs as felt by consumers and carers as they face specific problems. Both perspectives are necessary to develop effective and acceptable transcultural mental health strategies. The remainder of this article describes the framework and application of a methodology for community organisations and services to assess needs from diverse perspectives.
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