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.
T he National Multicultural Conference and Summit (NMCS) was held in January 1999 in Newport Beach, California. Hosted by the American Psychological Association's (APA's) Division 17, Counseling Psychology; Division 35, Society for the Psychology of Women; and Division 45, the Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues, the two-day series of keynote addresses, symposia, and forums brought together some of the most well-known multicultural scholars and practitioners in the field to (a) examine state-of-the-art issues in ethnic minority psychology; (b) facilitate difficult dialogues on race, gender, and sexual orientation; (c) forge multicultural alliances for political action and advocacy; and (d) develop strategies for multicultural organizational change. The events of the summit are considered historic and revolutionary for several reasons.First, the idea for the NMCS arose from the election of the first Asian American president of APA (Richard Suinn) and the realization that five other persons of color were elected presidents of their respective APA divisions (Divisions 17, 35, 36, 44, and 45). l As individuals were chosen for leadership positions, we were presented with a three-year window of opportunity to make a meaningful difference in ethnic minority issues in the profession of psychology. For many years, the members of Divisions 17, 35, and 45 have been influential in addressing issues of racism, sexism, heterosexism, and other forms of prejudice and discrimination. Each of us saw a clear need to spearhead change by bringing together outstanding psychologists who have worked in the areas of race relations, diversity, and multiculturalism. Never before in the history of APA has such a large number of multicultural experts been brought together to assess the current state of psychology with respect to its relevance to culturally different populations. In addition to the presenters, over 500 other psychologists and graduate students from throughout the nation attended the event.
The research on positive psychotherapy outcome consistently indicates that the quality of the alliance is important across different models of psychotherapy (D. E. Orlinsky, M. H. Ronnestad, & U. Willutzki, 2004; B. E. Wampold, 2000). Social psychological research has documented how "unintentional bias" can produce barriers to university admissions, employment, and advancement of well-qualified members of ethnic minority groups (J. F. Dovidio, S. L. Gaertner, K. Kawakami, & G. Hodson, 2002). Neuroscience is further confirming social psychological responses associated with race (J. L. Eberhard, 2005). Unintentional bias identified in social psychological research may be part of the psychotherapist/client interaction, interfere with the therapeutic alliance, and partly account for the high dropout rates and underutilization of psychotherapeutic services by people of color. The purpose of this article is to provide an evidence-based analysis of how psychologists in practice may unintentionally interfere with development of quality alliances with culturally different clients or patients and thus contribute to the barriers to effective multicultural counseling and psychotherapy. Principles from the American Psychological Association's (2003) multicultural guidelines and a review of relevant research are applied in suggesting strategies to reduce bias and to develop culturally appropriate skills in psychological practices.
A national, web-based survey of 1,222 African-American, Latina/o, Asian-American and European-American psychology graduate students revealed both similarities and differences in experiences and perspectives. Mentoring was found to be the strongest predictor of satisfaction across groups. Academic supports and barriers, along with perceptions of diversity were also important predictors of satisfaction. Students of color differed from European-American students in perceptions of fairness of representation of their ethnic group within psychology, and in aspects of the graduate school experience perceived as linked to ethnicity. Limitations of the study and implications for future research and action are discussed.
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