The article Counseling Latinos with Substance Abuse concerns working with individuals who identify as part of the Latino culture. The term Latino is used in this article as an inclusive term that applies to people of Latino and/or Hispanic descent in the United States (Torres-Rivera, Wilbur, Phan, Maddux, & Roberts-Wilbur, 2004). According to the article, the Latino population has the third and second highest percentages of illicit drug and alcohol use in the country, respectively. Heavy drinking can be attributed to a multitude of factors, including: education level, low socioeconomic status, and acculturation stress. The article reports that approximately 15% of all incarcerated people in the United States identify with the Latino population. . Additionally, nearly a quarter of them are incarcerated on drug-related charges (Torres-Rivera, Wilbur, Phan, Maddux, & Roberts-Wilbur, 2004). That being said, the authors suggest that much attention should be paid to substance use issues in this population. The authors suggest that the current literature does not effectively address the counseling needs of Latinos who have substance abuse-related problems. Additionally, manuals describing the treatment of Latinos are considered too broad and general (Torres-Rivera, Wilbur, Phan, Maddux, & Roberts-Wilbur, 2004). While I think there may not be a lot of information out there about working with this population, I think a lot of it may be due to the “catch-all” category of “Latino.” One interesting thing this article pointed out is that no one's counseling approach was more effective. However, the article proposes the use of multimodal interventions that encompass a...... middle of paper ......ps could be generalized to all medications or only those that could be used in moderation. Despite these things, I learned about myself from reading this article that I do not have a basic understanding of some terminologies frequently used by Latinos. Additionally, the outline at the end of the article provided helpful suggestions on working with the Latino population. Overall, I found this article extremely helpful in gaining new knowledge about some of the biopsychosocial considerations to take into account when working with this population. Works Cited Torres-Rivera, E., Wilbur, MP, Phan, LT, Maddux, CD and Roberts -Wilbur, J. (2004). Counseling Latinos with substance abuse problems. Journal of Addictions & Offender Counseling, 25(1), 26-42. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.jproxy.lib.ecu.edu/docview/194443893?accountid=10639