Training programs committed to the development of culturally competent family therapists must discover ways to raise cultural awareness and increase cultural sensitivity. While awareness involves gaining knowledge of various cultural groups, sensitivity involves having experiences that challenge individuals to explore their personal cultural issues. This article outlines how the cultural genogram can be used as an effective training tool to promote both cultural awareness and sensitivity.

Notions of a racial identity for persons with one Black and one White parent have assumed the existence of only a singular identity (first Black and later biracial). Emerging empirical research on racial identity formation among members of this group reveals that multiple identity options are possible. In terms of overall health, the level of social invalidation one encounters with respect to racial self-identification is more important than the specific racial identity selected. Here a relational narrative approach to therapy with Black-White mixed-race clients who experience systematic invalidation of their chosen racial identity is presented through a detailed case illustration.

As society becomes more racially, ethnically, and culturally diverse, therapists' training needs to become broader in order to incorporate greater cultural sensitivity into practice. Educational programs must create a cultural milieu that challenges students to explore the complexities of race, ethnicity, and culture. The authors analyze training-program culture in terms of curriculum, structural composition, and the clinical components of practice. Suggestions for how the culture of programs can be reshaped are offered.

Although family development theory has made significant contributions to the field of family studies, virtually all of the models based on this theory are fraught with two fundamental conceptual weaknesses: the assumption of universality and the skew toward a single generational focus. The Systemic Family Developmental (SFD) Model is presented here as a process-oriented and holistic alternative to existing models of family developmental theory. Following the presentation of a case example that demonstrates how the SFD Model can be used to study an actual family, detailed recommendations are provided for the use of the Model in undergraduate family development and family studies courses.

Race and racism have a profound effect on our daily lives and the practice of family therapy. Whether individual or institutional level, overt or covert, intentional or unintentional, there are a variety of ways in which racism can infiltrate the therapeutic process. Before therapists can take steps to address racism effectively within the context of family therapy, it is important to attend to the development of their racial awareness and racial sensitivity. These provide the critical foundation upon which specific skills and strategies associated with effectively identifying and responding to racism in therapy are based. This article defines racial awareness and sensitivity and provides suggestions for enhancing both. In the section that follows, three major ways in which racism can infiltrate the therapeutic process are described. Skills and strategies for addressing each of these in family therapy are presented.