An experiential workshop: Introduction to multiculturalism.

Abstract

It is exciting to have the opportunity to describe the work that occurred at the midwinter 1988-1989 Puerto Rico conference of the National Council of Schools of Professional Psychology (NCSPP) from my perspective as a consultant and trainer in the area of multiculturalism. Although I work with many institutions in the public and private sectors, it seems that much too often the field of psychology has attempted to overlook the importance of a directed, active focus on increasing the role of diversity within the discipline (S. Sue, 1988; S. Sue & Zane, 1987). Thus it was an important and meaningful experience to be invited to consult with an organization that is proactively expediting its explicitly stated commitments regarding the creation and maintenance of culturally inclusive structures and processes (Bourg, Bent, McHolland, & Stricker, 1989). Furthermore, finding such a commitment within my own discipline, psychology, was even more exciting.The NCSPP Puerto Rico conference focused on the role of cultural diversity in the education and training of professional psychologists. My responsibility was to conduct the opening experiential workshop for the conference. I also had the opportunity to share in conference activities, through listening to speakers, reading papers and reports of presentations, and conversing formally and informally with conference organizers and psychologists in attendance. Ffty-nine psychologists, representing 27 schools of professional psychology (SPPs) and the American Psychological Association, attended the conference. The conference process included inviting people of color from member schools throughout the association to share their expertise in a variety of arena5 in which change is needed in order to ensure a successful multicultural presence. In total, there were 21 people of color and 38 White ethnic conferees. In this chapter, I summarize the workshop that I conducted. Then, I offer an assessment of the conference process and some implications for future organizational efforts in this area.

Multicultural education and genetic counseling

“…Confronting these issues can be difficult. It may reveal aspects of beliefs and behaviors that fall short of one's professed values and actions [25,26]. It will reveal ways in which one benefits from inequities of resources and power that are sustained, in part, by racism and discrimination.…”

“…Self‐study guides may be helpful in ethnocultural self‐exploration [4,7,28]. However, experiential groups, when provided with appropriate guidance for the individual and interpersonal conflicts that arise [25], and ongoing individual or group supervision [29] can also be very valuable. They provide an external source of support, insight and moderated confrontation that can be essential, given the ‘invisible’ elements of one's own culture and the normal defenses against confronting material that may be painful or stand in contrast to one's established sense of self.…”