Multicultural Awareness, Knowledge, and Skills Among American Counselor Trainees: Group Differences in Self-Perceived Competence Based on Dispositional and Programmatic Variables

Competent Counseling for Middle Eastern American Clients: Implications for Trainees

“…Findings from this study are consistent with those of previous empirical literature that suggest that counselors of color score significantly higher than White counselors across a number of multicultural competence subscales that measure counselor awareness, knowledge, and skills with culturally diverse clients (Chao, 2006;Chao et al, 2011;Hill et al, 2013;Ponterotto et al, 1996;Pope-Davis & Ottavi, 1994;Vinson & Neimeyer, 2000, 2003. Furthermore, findings from this study are consistent with Sheu and Lent's (2007) research that supports differences between White trainees and trainees of color on some dimensions of multicultural CSE.…”

“…A majority of studies that have assessed multicultural competence indicated that counselors of color scored significantly higher than White counselors across a number of subscales that measure counselor awareness, knowledge, and skills in clinical work with diverse clients (Chao, 2006;Chao et al, 2011;Hill et al, 2013;Ponterotto et al, 1996;Pope-Davis & Ottavi, 1994;Vinson & Neimeyer, 2000, 2003. For example, in their initial scale development of the Multicultural Awareness Scale, Ponterotto and colleagues (1996) found that when they combined trainees of color into one group, trainees of color scored significantly higher than White trainees on the Knowledge and Skills subscales.…”

“…In addition to multicultural competence, empathy and counseling self-efficacy (CSE) have been highlighted as important counselor characteristics for working with clients from diverse cultural backgrounds (Constantine, 2000;Sue & Sue, 2008). Additionally, studies that have investigated counselor multicultural competence with diverse client populations have revealed differences between White trainees and trainees of color on subscales of multicultural competence (Chao, 2006;Chao, Wei, Good, & Flores, 2011;Hill, Vereen, McNeal, & Stotesbury, 2013;Ponterotto et al, 1996;Pope-Davis & Ottavi, 1994;Vinson & Neimeyer, 2000, 2003. One cultural group for which there is limited counseling competence literature is Middle Eastern American (MEA) clients (sometimes referred to as Arab Americans in the literature).…”

Stigma of mental illness and multicultural counseling self-efficacy : investigating the implications of the multicultural training environment, mental health literacy, and empathy.

“…These findings also support research by Holcomb-McCoy et al (2008) who found that school counseling trainees who identified as members of a racial minority group had higher levels of multicultural counseling selfefficacy than nonminority students (Holcomb-McCoy et al, 2008). Similarly, Hill et al (2013), in their study of self-perceived multicultural competence among counseling trainees, found that race/ethnicity was the only salient factor in the study, with those trainees who identified as African American or Hispanic scoring higher than those trainees who identified as White or Asian.…”

“…Multicultural counseling self-efficacy was chosen as a construct of interest for the current study in an effort to differentiate the construct from multicultural counseling competence, a related but separate construct (Holcomb-McCoy et al, 2008). Although research of the factors that are directly related to multicultural counseling self-efficacy is limited (Barden & Greene, 2015), it has come to be considered an important piece of multicultural training that cannot be adequately or accurately measured with instruments developed to measure multicultural counseling competence (Hill, Vereen, McNeal, & Stotesbury, 2013).…”