Developing Multicultural Counseling Competencies Through Experiential Learning

MSW Students' Perspectives on Learning and Delivering a Protocolized, Low-Intensity Transdiagnostic Psychological Intervention: Implications for Experiential Learning

Problem Management Plus (PM+) is a protocolized, low-intensity, transdiagnostic psychological intervention designed to be delivered by lay individuals. Faculty at the University of South Florida School of Social Work recognized PM + as a potential psychological intervention for master's students to learn to complement their clinical coursework and simultaneously provide an experiential learning experience to support their clinical skills. Before this pilot, the feasibility and acceptability of integrating PM + into a Master of Social Work (MSW) setting were unknown. Upon analyzing the students' feedback using inductive content analysis, it is evident that experiential learning using interventions is crucial to building the self-efficacy of MSW students. Students reported that PM + helped their personal mental health and client interactions, using the tools they learned even a year after the pilot. Future research should focus on integrating PM + into experiential learning experiences within social work and allied academic settings and professions.

International Education and Service Learning

The field of counseling psychology continues to see a perpetual underutilization of mental health resources by many cultural groups, including international populations. Underutilization of services is due, in part, to psychologists’ deficiency in cultural and international competency. International education—an experiential learning technique that involves cultural contact—has been proposed as an alternative method for training students to work effectively cross-culturally. The current article examines the effects of service learning embedded in a study abroad diversity course in Singapore. The course was designed for graduate counseling psychology students as an experiential vehicle for developing cultural competency and awareness of social justice issues through direct contact with diverse groups. Qualitative data are reviewed, and implications for training, such as integration of cross-cultural and social justice issues in counseling training programs, are discussed.

Social Justice Training Within Geropsychology

Counseling psychology is well positioned to address issues of social justice to meet the needs of marginalized groups such as older adults. Given the rapid growth of the senior population and an insufficient number of competent professionals to serve them, it is imperative that counseling psychologists act immediately to develop effective pedagogies to prepare for the future. This article describes four nontraditional pedagogies that help prepare students to work with older adults: (a) service-learning (SL) involving undergraduates who provide community service to seniors; (b) an active learning strategy utilizing a narrative therapy technique, in a multicultural training setting with master’s students; (c) a brief, case-based, interprofessional training experience for doctoral students; and (d) a hierarchical supervision model with doctoral and master’s students in a community outreach wellness program. The relevance to social justice training within the counseling psychology profession is also highlighted.

Multicultural Therapy Practicum Involving Refugees

Multicultural scholars have long noted the value and the need to incorporate multicultural counseling practica into diversity-social justice training. This article describes an ongoing, systematic model of multicultural therapy practicum in which clinical psychology trainees provide direct psychotherapy to community-referred, culturally and linguistically diverse refugee clients, under culturally grounded supervision. As a university–community collaboration, this practicum embodies the principles of multicultural counseling competencies, social justice, community outreach and service, experiential learning, and trauma therapy. In this article, we describe the target refugee population, the theoretical/conceptual bases, the learning conditions, the organizational structure, and the evaluative research of this practicum. Next, we present a former trainee’s narrative account of working with a male Afghan refugee from an autoethnographic qualitative framework to illustrate the dynamic learning process and the intricate cross-cultural interactions between the client and therapist. Finally, implications of this practicum for future practice and research on experiential multicultural training are discussed.

The Experience of Becoming a Therapist in a Foreign Culture

This phenomenological study explores the experience of becoming a therapist in a foreign culture. The purpose is to better understand the issues adjusting to a new culture and give voice to the lived experience of immigrant therapists. Few studies explore the experience of foreign therapists. Most focus on the experience of mainstream mental health professionals dealing with populations from specific cultural backgrounds. A total of eight therapists, who emigrated from another country to the United States, were asked to describe situations when practicing was challenging because of cultural differences. The descriptive phenomenological psychological approach was used to analyze the collected protocol. The findings focused on four main themes: (a) facing cultural shock and threats on identity, (b) adjusting professionally to a different culture, (c) developing a new identity, and (d) counseling across cultures. These experiences both challenged their professional identity and also developed competencies. The experiences also turned out to be beneficial for the therapist–client relationship and for the client. Not sharing the same culture as clients was not always a limitation, and sometimes an advantage for their professional development and performance.

Transformative learning through international immersion: building multicultural competence in family therapy and counseling

This study explores the experiences of graduate students who completed one of two international courses facilitated by family therapy faculty in a U.S. master's-level counseling psychology department. Participants reported that international courses were personally and professionally transformative. Spending time in a foreign country gave them opportunities to learn from cultural differences, ultimately increasing the social and global awareness required for multicultural sensitivity. Experiential learning, reflection, and dialogue resulted in raised critical consciousness among participants. In this article, we discuss the transformational learning processes embedded in international courses and the potential benefits of these experiences on the development of multicultural sensitivity in family therapists and counselors in training.

Helpful and Hindering Multicultural Events in Group Supervision

This study examines the relationship between multicultural events in group supervision, group climate, and supervisee multicultural competence using a mixed qualitative/quantitative design. The discovery-oriented approach yielded 196 helpful and hindering multicultural events among 136 participants. The most common events included multicultural learning and peer vicarious learning. Supervisees suggested improving their group supervision through better integration of multicultural issues and more supervisor involvement. Regarding group climate, supervisees reporting peer vicarious learning or multicultural learning experienced higher group engagement, whereas misapplications of multicultural theory related to higher reports of group conflict. Increased multicultural learning and extra-group multicultural events positively related to supervisees' multicultural competence whereas multicultural conflicts with supervisors, misapplication of multicultural theory, and the absence of multicultural events negatively related to supervisee multicultural competence. The findings of this study generated several suggestions for managing multicultural events as well as improving theory, research, and practice for group supervision.

Competencies conference: future directions in education and credentialing in professional psychology

The Competencies Conference: Future Directions in Education and Credentialing in Professional Psychology was organized around eight competency-focused work groups, as well as work groups on specialties and the assessment of competence. A diverse group of psychologists participated in this multisponsored conference. After describing the background and structure of the conference, this article reviews the common themes that surfaced across work groups, with attention paid to the identification, training, and assessment of competencies and competence. Recommendations to advance competency-based education, training, and credentialing in professional psychology are discussed. This is one of a series of articles published together in this issue of the Journal of Clinical Psychology. Several other articles that resulted from the Competencies Conference will appear in Professional Psychology: Research and Practice and The Counseling Psychologist.