Approaches to multicultural training for professionals: A guide for choosing an appropriate program.

Abstract

There are many multicultural training programs available to mental health agencies and their staff, but it can be difficult to discern which programs might be appropriate for a given agency. Unfortunately, there is little published information that could help guide professionals in choosing a program that would effectively meet their needs. For the most part, multicultural consultants have not published descriptions of their programs or reviews of their outcomes in peer-reviewed journals. In addition, most published literature on training has focused on graduate training programs rather than on the training needs of practicing psychologists who are already working in mental health centers, group practices, hospitals, or other professional settings. This lack of information makes it difficult for professional agencies who want multicultural training for their staff to decide what type of program would be the most effective. This article provides a model for determining an agency's training needs and selecting appropriate training options to match those needs so they can have more meaningful and effective training experiences.

Graduate Socialization in the Responsible Conduct of Research: A National Survey on the Research Ethics Training Experiences of Psychology Doctoral Students

“…This should raise red flags for the profession of psychology as it pursues initiatives to expand adoption of training in evidence-based practice in clinical care (Luebbe, Radcliffe, Callands, Green & Thorn, 2007). Without experience conducting intervention research involving populations with mental health disorders students, pursuing careers in psychological science will not have the training to independently conduct studies of treatment efficacy and effectiveness and practicing psychologists will be deprived of experiences that can assist them in critically evaluating the relevance of evidence-based practices to their everyday professional activities.While the discipline of psychology has increasingly called for multicultural competence in research, practice, and ethics training (Fisher, 2009;Lyon & Cotler, 2007; Ponterotto, Casas, Suzuki, & Alexader, 2001;Magyar-Moe et al, 2005;Rogers-Sirin, 2008;Sue & Sue, 2003;Trimble & Fisher, 2006), our data raise concerns that students who are most likely to pursue careers in psychological science or to incorporate research findings into their professional practice have little direct experience conducting research with ethnic minority populations. Moreover, those that conduct research involving ethnic minority groups are likely to study only those with mental disorders or who are economically disadvantaged, while those researching majority group members largely study healthy middle class populations.…”

Implementation of a cross-cultural simulation workshop: Feasibility and training satisfaction.

“…Some have attempted to expand cultural competence training research to include such postgraduate providers. Notably, Rogers-Sirin (2008) demonstrated how the five-level pyramid model (Ridley et al, 1994) could be applied to help clinical organizations develop appropriate multicultural training for practicing mental health professionals, and Delphin and Rowe (2008) presented a case example of an introductory workshop used to instruct community mental health and outreach workers in the specific knowledge, skills, and awareness domains outlined in multicultural counseling competencies through experiential learning (Arredondo et al, 1996; Sue et al, 1992). However, despite clear recognition that multicultural training can enhance provider effectiveness when working with diverse clients, literature focusing on multicultural training at the professional level remains limited.…”

“…The call for fostering the multicultural competence of mental health service providers is not novel, and perceived multicultural competence is shown to be related to client outcomes. However, there is limited research that identifies practical and effective strategies that can help clinicians improve their therapy and interpersonal communication skills when working with clients different from themselves (Magyar-Moe et al, 2005; Rogers-Sirin, 2008).…”

Graduate Socialization in the Responsible Conduct of Research: A National Survey on the Research Ethics Training Experiences of Psychology Doctoral Students

“…While the discipline of psychology has increasingly called for multicultural competence in research, practice, and ethics training (Fisher, 2009; Lyon & Cotler, 2007; Ponterotto, Casas, Suzuki, & Alexader, 2001; Magyar-Moe et al, 2005; Rogers-Sirin, 2008; Sue & Sue, 2003; Trimble & Fisher, 2006), our data raise concerns that students who are most likely to pursue careers in psychological science or to incorporate research findings into their professional practice have little direct experience conducting research with ethnic minority populations. Moreover, those that conduct research involving ethnic minority groups are likely to study only those with mental disorders or who are economically disadvantaged, while those researching majority group members largely study healthy middle class populations.…”