Marriage and Family Therapy Students’ Change in Multicultural Counseling Competencies after a Diversity Course

BIPOC Experiences of Racial Trauma on TikTok: A Qualitative Content Analysis

Racial trauma has long been an issue in American society. Recent incidents of racial violence, including the attack and murder of George Floyd and the rise of anti-Asian hate have garnered significant media attention. People often use social media to express their emotions and perspectives on national events, and it has become a popular forum for posting and commenting on content related to timely social issues. In effort to understand individual perspectives, and experiences of racial trauma discussed on social media, we analyzed content labeled with the hashtag "racial trauma" on TikTok during significant racial incidents from March 2020 to May 2022. Results of content analysis showed six themes, (1) encountering racism, (2) traumatic experiences, (3) consequences of experiencing racial trauma, (4) expressing difficult feelings, (5) questioning and challenging oppression, denial, and privilege, and (6) a call to action: raising awareness. Findings inform clinicians' understanding of how their clients experience racial trauma. Clinical implications for incorporating a nuanced understanding of racial trauma in mental health treatment are discussed.

A comparison of classroom-based and online multicultural training course within a marriage and family therapy training program

This study contributes to an emerging area of research on online learning within marriage and family therapy training programs while responding to the need for research on the effectiveness of multicultural training marriage and family therapists receive. Using 32 students in a marriage and family therapy program and a pretest-posttest design, this study focused on student outcomes across a classroom-based multicultural training course and an online section of the same course. Support was found for the effectiveness of each instructional modality in delivering multicultural training. Findings also indicated that student gains did not significantly differ across students in the two course sections. This is the first study to provide evidence that online learning does not compromise the effectiveness of multicultural training for marriage and family therapists and adds evidence to the claim that the multicultural training marriage and family therapists receive is effective in achieving its aims.

Designing diversity training program for business executives

Purpose

In today’s corporate world, effective management of diversity is a critical business and social imperative. This paper aims to identify relevant issues connected to diversity training and suggest course content that can be useful in corporate and academia while offering diversity training.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors have conducted a literature review on primary aspects connected to diversity training. Specifically, papers published in recent times are given focus to come up with relevant diversity training content and other connected concerns.

Findings

In this paper, the authors focus on how academicians and practitioners can develop an effective diversity training initiative, based on some of the critical nuances discussed in the literature. Suggested training content includes sensitivity, awareness, behavioral approach, policy guidelines and diversity impact analysis. This training content can further be customized based on the corporate context where the training is to be delivered.

Originality/value

Based on the literature review, the paper suggests a holistic diversity training program that is hopefully going to be useful for both practitioners and academicians.

Using experiential tasks to enhance cultural sensitivity among MFT trainees

Approximately 60% of accredited MFT master's programs now offer a single course devoted to diversity and oppression, which is noteworthy given that this is not mandated by accreditation standards. For educators and trainers seeking guidance on how to most effectively teach diversity issues and train therapists who will be culturally competent, the MFT literature does an excellent job of providing support for enhancing cultural awareness, for example, cognizance of, insight into, and knowledge about diversity issues. However, far less attention is focused on assisting educators in how to enhance cultural sensitivity, for example, attunement to, emotional resonance with, and meaningful responsiveness to the needs and feelings of others. This article presents a model for how to teach about issues of diversity in ways that promote both cultural awareness and sensitivity but with emphasis on enhancing sensitivity through the use of a series of experiential tasks.

Marriage and family therapists' comfort working with lesbian and gay male clients: the influence of religious practices and support for lesbian and gay male human rights

The purpose of this study was to explore potential influences on marriage and family therapists' comfort level when working with lesbian and gay male clients, including sex, age, race, sexual orientation, political orientation, religious practices of the therapist, as well as the level of support for lesbian and gay male human rights. Participants in this study were 199 experienced therapists. Results indicated that higher levels of religious practices were related to lower levels of support for lesbian and gay male human rights and to lower levels of comfort working with lesbian and gay male clients. When support for lesbian and gay male human rights was considered, the level of religious practices was no longer predictive of comfort working with lesbian and gay male clients.

Individual and Environmental Factors Influencing the Use of Transfer Strategies After Diversity Training

Change in work behavior is often the primary goal of diversity training, but few studies have examined transfer of diversity training. In this longitudinal field study, the authors measured cognitive, affective, and behavioral learning outcomes after a diversity training program as well as the subsequent use of transfer strategies on the job. They examined the influence of learning outcomes, trainee characteristics, and environmental characteristics on the use of transfer strategies. Trainee race/ethnicity and the work unit transfer climate are the best predictors of trainees' transfer strategy use. Among the learning outcomes, skill learning is the only significant predictor of transfer strategy use.