What's missing from multicultural competency research: review, introspection, and recommendations.

Much of the multicultural counseling research has pointed out the need for counselors to become culturally competent to appropriately address the needs of an emerging diverse community. To date, however, this body of research has largely focused on counselor competencies, with little attention being given to the client perspective of multicultural counseling competencies. This article discusses the importance of integrating the client perspective within the historical context of the multicultural literature by examining client preferences and expectations, as well as the adequacy of the current empirical data. The authors also raise the issue of politics inherent in multiculturalism and discuss how this affects the research. A number of recommendations are made as a guide for future research.

The development and initial validation of the Multicultural Environmental Inventory: a preliminary investigation.

This article describes the development and initial validation of the Multicultural Environmental Inventory (MEI). The MEI is an instrument designed to measure an individual's perceptions about the degree to which graduate counseling programs address multicultural issues within curriculum, supervision, climate, and research. This investigation was conducted using the data from 208 students and faculty from counseling psychology graduate programs across the United States approved by the American Psychological Association. By using techniques of exploratory factor analysis, a 4-factor solution was determined to account for the relationships among the items on the MEI. The instrument was modified from 53 to 27 items on the basis of the items' effectiveness in measuring the underlying constructs of interest, and internal consistency information is provided on the final revised instrument (MEI-R). The factors underlying the MEI-R are discussed within the context of a multicultural environment in graduate counseling programs, and directions for future research are considered.

Exploring multicultural competencies of occupational therapists: implications for education and training.

The purpose of this investigation was to explore the influence of demographic and educational variables on self-reported multicultural competencies of occupational therapists. A sample of 94 occupational therapists currently working in the field participated in this investigation. Multicultural course work, seminars and workshops, percentage of minority patients worked with, and highest degree held were found to correlate significantly with self-reported multicultural competencies. Regression analyses found that highest degree held, percentage of minority patients worked with, multicultural course work, and participation in multicultural seminars and workshops accounted for about half of the variance in multicultural awareness. These findings are discussed in terms of academic courses and continued professional training and education for occupational therapists.