Multicultural Clinical Psychology, Midterm

MIDTERM DATE: 10/22/2026

Broad view of culture (Q1)

The total way of life of a people including their interpersonal relations and attitudes. Provides a dynamic metaphor for interpreting human behavior in the context of where the behavior was learned/is displayed.

Narrow view of culture (Q1)

Values, beliefs, norms, rationalizations, symbols, ideologies, and other “mental products” which provide descriptive categories.

Describe multicultural psychology acc. to APA (Q1)

A fourth force of psychology relevant to all other disciplines.

Describe cross-cultural psychology acc. to APA (Q1)

A BRANCH of psychology that studies similarities and variances in human behavior across different cultures and identifies the different psychological constructs and explanatory models used by these cultures. Has been influenced by anthropology, emphasizes social psychological analyses of international differences.

Explain how research findings from cross-cultural psychology can influence multicultural psychology.

Cross-cultural psychology research findings can be used to inform multicultural psychology and multicultural guidelines followed by clinicians and researchers. It can add to the evidence base surrounding multiculturalism to give it increased legitimacy in the field.

Identify FIRST of the “twelve uniquely positive contributions of a broadly defined culture-centered perspective in psychology” described by Pederson (1999) and provide example. (Q2)

A healthy socio-ecosystem requires a diversity of cultural perspectives just as a healthy bio-system requires a diverse gene pool by analogy.

EXAMPLE: In the VIP Initiative led by Dr. Clarke to support the mental health of people living in Reading, PA, the team found that community stakeholders should be involved in all planning conversations and decisions from conception. This is because community stakeholders hold unique perspectives that can bolster the effectiveness of such initiatives and circumvent potential problems. The team could have avoided multiple issues if they had involved the community in their decision-making from conception.

Identify SECOND of the “twelve uniquely positive contributions of a broadly defined culture-centered perspective in psychology” described by Pederson (1999) and provide example. (Q2)

Contact with culturally different groups provides an opportunity to rehearse adaptive functioning skills for our own multicultural future in the global village.

EXAMPLE: Therapists who actually work with culturally diverse patients or patients from underserved groups are going to have stronger skills and greater ability to navigate multicultural treatment settings and spaces, compared to therapists who only engage with patients from their own group. This applies both to therapists from dominant and marginalized groups.

Identify THIRD of the “twelve uniquely positive contributions of a broadly defined culture-centered perspective in psychology” described by Pederson (1999) and provide example. (Q2)

A culture-centered perspective will strengthen contemporary theories of psychological intervention rather than weaken or displace them by interpreting them in the client's cultural context.

EXAMPLE: Empirical research has shown that culturally adapted CBT shows improved treatment outcomes and decreased rates of early treatment termination in culturally diverse patient groups compared to CBT that is not culturally adapted.

Describe FIRST of APA’s 2017 Multicultural Guidelines and provide an example of how the guidelines would be applied in the real-world context. (Q3)

Psychologists seek to recognize and understand that identity and self-definition are fluid and complex and that the interaction between the two is dynamic. To this end, psychologists appreciate that intersectionality is shaped by the multiplicity of the individual’s social contexts.

EXAMPLE: Clinicians can use the ADDRESSING framework not only to understand what cultural groups their client belongs to but also how membership to certain groups may intersect and influence their experience of membership in other groups. For example, therapists may understand that for a Black trans woman, experiences of transphobia will be shaped by racism.

Describe SECOND of APA’s 2017 Multicultural Guidelines and provide an example of how the guidelines would be applied in the real-world context. (Q3)

Psychologists endeavor to be aware of the role of the social and physical environment in the lives of clients, students, research participants, and/or consultees.

EXAMPLE: Clinicians can hold awareness for the fact that individual clients’ mental health problems will be heavily shaped by their membership to certain cultural groups, and clinicians can make salient those structural influences on mental health in session with the client, as a way of making sense of their pain.

Describe THIRD of APA’s 2017 Multicultural Guidelines and provide an example of how the guidelines would be applied in the real-world context. (Q3)

Psychologists seek to promote culturally adaptive interventions and advocacy within and across systems, including prevention, early intervention, and recovery.

EXAMPLE: A psychologist can adapt their treatment of clients from impoverished communities not only by conducting individual therapy but also by connecting them to resources such as food pantries and government benefits.

Name the 3 components of Derald Wing Sue’s definition of cultural competence and provide distinct examples of each. (Q4)

1: Cultural awareness and beliefs

EXAMPLE: The White American therapist understands that their cultural upbringing instilled in them values of independence and individualism, and is sensitive to the fact that this may influence what values they promote in sessions with clients from collectivist cultures.

2: Cultural knowledge

EXAMPLE: The White American therapist understands that a Latin American client comes from a culture that emphasizes high family interdependence and respect for authority, and that it may be inappropriate to encourage such clients to seek greater independence from their parents and families.

3: Cultural skills

EXAMPLE: The cisgender therapist understands a gender-nonconforming client’s culture enough to know that in therapy, it is skillful to ask for the client’s preferred name and pronouns during intake and to always use said preferred name and pronouns in order to communicate respect for the client’s gender identity.

There are 3 early criticisms of the multicultural competence movement in psychology and responses countering these criticisms described by Sue (2009). How would you counter the criticism that emphasizing multicultural competence results in therapists stereotyping clients of color (e.g., Asian clients, Black clients, etc.)? (Q5)

Advocates of cultural competence don’t see external factors as the sole cause of mental disorders, but rather recognize individual differences within various ethnic groups.

There are 3 early criticisms of the multicultural competence movement in psychology and responses countering these criticisms described by Sue (2009). How would you counter the criticism that by advocating for multicultural competence for clients of color, we are ignoring other aspects of the client’s identity, such as gender and social class? (Q5)

Multicultural competence emphasizes the importance of a client’s memberships to ALL of the marginalized groups they are a part of, not only their race or ethnicity. For example, multicultural competence is needed in the treatment of gender nonconforming clients or clients with a disability status. Multicultural competence also heavily emphasizes intersectionality, so other aspects of the client’s identity are not ignored in favor of ethnicity.

There are 3 early criticisms of the multicultural competence movement in psychology and responses countering these criticisms described by Sue (2009). How would you counter the criticism that the multicultural competence movement has resulted in the roles of culture and membership in a minoritized group being overemphasized in mental health? (Q5)

The emphasis on minority status is a direct response to centuries of ethnocentric bias against and inattention to the importance of culture and minority group status. We cannot account for these things or improve the status of the field if we are unwilling to look at these factors at all.

What are the 4 steps to intersectionality in clinical practice, according to Hays (2024)? Provide an example of what each step would look like in practice. (Q6)

1: The therapist’s ongoing self-assessment and development of a multicultural, intersectional orientation.

EXAMPLE: Therapist undergoes supervision in the context of constantly seeking to improve their multicultural thinking and practice. In supervision, they look for missed opportunities to discuss cultural identity with clients.

2: Attention to structural inequities embedded in the mental health system.

EXAMPLE: Therapist allows impoverished clients to schedule sessions in late evenings or on weekends due to knowledge that these clients often have long or inflexible work schedules that would stop them from being able to attend therapy during normal business hours.

3: Consideration of the impact of systemic oppression on individuals who hold intersectional identities.

EXAMPLE: Therapist draws a Black transgender client’s attention to the fact that the transphobic attacks they suffered in the military at the hands of White officers may have been impacted by racial discrimination as well as the more overt transphobia.

4: Recognition of the resilience, strength, and support that often emerge with intersecting identities.

EXAMPLE: Therapist draws a Latin American client’s attention to the fact that they demonstrate resilience through strong emotional bonds with their family members, which is a Latin American cultural value that grants strength to members of the group.