Strategies for Building Multicultural Competence in Mental Health and Educational Settings (PDF)

"A must-read book for all mental health professionals wanting to
keep up with today's most important clients...practical, concrete,
hands-on details from firsthand experts on ethnic
populations."

--Richard Suinn, PhD, Colorado State University, Past president
(1999), American Psychological Association

The rich mosaic of racial and ethnic diversity defines our society
now more than ever. For students and professional psychologists,
this translates into a critical need to address a range of cultural
diversity issues, as well as potential biases.

Recently, the American Psychological Association (APA) recognized
the importance of cultural competence for psychologists through its
adoption of its Multicultural Guidelines. Applying those guidelines
to real-world practice is both complex and challenging. Only one
text brings it all into sharp focus: Strategies for Building
Multicultural Competence in Mental Health and Educational
Settings.

Edited and written by renowned multicultural experts, this
informative guide is full of concrete strategies and case examples,
all geared toward achieving the goal of culturally competent
practice. Chapter by chapter, it uses a variety of practice
modalities in various settings to help all mental health
professionals increase their familiarity and compliance with the
APA Multicultural Guidelines.

Beginning with a useful summary of the APA guidelines, Strategies
for Building Multicultural Competence in Mental Health and
Educational Settings covers the guidelines' relevance to:

* Individual and group counseling

* Couples and family counseling

* Career counseling with people of color

* Independent practice settings

* Multicultural consultations and organizational change

* Academic mental health training settings

* Clinical and hospital settings

* College counseling center settings

* Elementary and secondary school settings

This timely reference also considers building multicultural
competence around indigenous healing practices; in clinical
supervision contexts; and in culturally sensitive research. Taken
together, the book is a much-needed blueprint for making culturally
informed decisions, explaining how the multicultural initiatives
you implement today can he'p shape the field's future.