Integrating multicultural issues into graduate clinical psychology training.

Abstract

Clinical and counseling programs seeking to incorporate ethnic minority issues into the curriculum have wrestled with how best to do so. A number of training models have recently been suggested that include a multicultural focus (e.g., Adams, Taylor et al., 2002). Earlier, Copeland (1982), operating from the premise that theories and practices traditionally taught in graduate programs were relevant mainly to White, middle-class clients, proposed four different approaches by which materials relevant to ethnic minority populations could be integrated into those programs. Although she specifically targeted counselor education, the models she presented can be applied to graduate programs in clinical psychology as well. In this chapter, I discuss each of the models and then present a case study describing the application of one of them within a clinical doctoral program. Additional ideas about core curriculum transformation can be found in Davis-Russell,

A Case Study Illustration of Grief Therapy Using Culturally-Sensitive, Integrative Techniques

“…The client demonstrated marked improvement at termination in academic achievement, prosocial behavior, and emotional well-being. The effectiveness of interventions with African Americans that incorporate spiritual and religious elements into the therapeutic process has been demonstrated in recent research (Davis-Russell, 2002). This case study offers an illustration of the integration of spirituality and spiritual expression into a successful, culturallysensitive intervention.…”