Culturally competent practice: A mixed methods study among students, academics and alumni of clinical psychology master’s programs in the Netherlands

Abstract

This is the first research into preparation for multicultural clinical psychology practice in Europe. It applies the theory of multicultural counselling competency (MCC) to a case study in the Netherlands. It was hypothesized that cross-cultural practice experience, identification as a cultural minority, and satisfaction with cultural training was associated with MCC. The Multicultural Awareness Knowledge and Skills Survey was completed by 106 participants (22 students, 10 academics, 74 alumni) from clinical psychology masters’ programs. MANOVA detected a main effect of cross-cultural experience on MCC for all groups and universities. The data were enriched with exploratory qualitative data from 14 interviews (5 students, 5 academics, 4 alumni). Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis revealed three themes: limitations of clinical psychology, strategies for culturally competent practice, and strategies for cultural competency development. These outcomes suggest that cultural competency continues to require attention in master’s programs. The paper makes recommendations for further research enquiry related to training clinical psychologists to practice in Europe’s multicultural societies.

Language Choice in Psychotherapy of Multilingual Clients

“…Regarding the therapeutic process, therapists emphasized the importance of tracing and resolving their own biases in communication with their multilingual/multicultural clients. The description of the "Dutch way", of strictly adhering to set protocols and timeframes, echoes findings in some studies on healthcare communication (e.g., Geerlings et al, 2018;Schinkel et al, 2019). Given the therapists' special attention to this topic, their arguments for possible adaptation of the local way of psychological guidance and treatment should be taken seriously.…”

“That’s the World Standard”: A Critical Ethnography of “Universal” Knowledge

“…Initially, clinical psychology in the Netherlands was linked to the German psychoanalytic approach; however, American standardizations are increasingly shaping the country’s psychology training and practice (Dehue ). Graduates are registered as provisional psychologists with those wishing to practice clinical psychology independently requiring an additional two years of post‐master training in a Dutch university (Geerlings, Thompson, Kraaij et al ).…”

“…Additionally, the ethnographic data invoke theory rather than being derived from theory. Phenomenological anthropology thus moves away from distanced analytical approaches that are guided by theory, such as those often used in psychology (Geerlings, Thompson, Bouma et al ; Geerlings, Thompson, Kraaij et al ; Geerlings et al ). In our experience, phenomenological anthropology better equips us to understand the processual nature of knowledge contestation within the social contexts in which they occur.…”