Psychologists certainly understand the importance of establishing and maintaining competence, practicing within the scope of our competence, and expanding our competence into new areas of practice as warranted by the needs of those we serve. In "Always Competent?" (Barnett, 2000) the importance of competence and the steps necessary for developing, maintaining, and expanding competence were addressed. By virtue of our professional training psychologists generally possess a certain generic competence that includes the basic knowledge and skills needed to provide general clinical services. Typically, we must obtain additional or more advanced training, or specialized competence, to enter into specialty areas of practice. This might include practice in areas such as neuropsychology or forensic psychology or might include the use of techniques such as hypnosis or biofeedback.As the world in which we practice changes, so too must our knowledge base and skills. Actually, as a result of the diversifying population with which we work, psychologists’ generic competence must be continually updated and expanded so that we may continue providing meaningful assessment and treatment services. In fact, knowledge and skills previously considered specialized competence are now fast becoming essential elements of the generic competence we all must possess.

As a result of the rapid process of diversification our society is undergoing, there exists an urgent need for us to have up to date conceptions of ethnicity, race, and culture. As the composition of our society is changing so too is our client base. The competent practitioner is sensitive to these issues and has a knowledge and understanding of the differences between individuals from diverse groups as well as an understanding of within group differences. For example, the use of terms such as Asian, African American, and Hispanic are of limited use when conceptualizing an individual’s assessment and treatment needs. Great diversity exists within each of these groups that may have a profound impact on how individuals think, feel, and behave (Plummer, 1997). Our generic competence must now include not only an understanding of the role such differences play in mental health evaluation and treatment in general, but it should also include a basic understanding of the characteristics, needs, and special issues of the most likely groups we will serve.

It is recommended that when meeting with clients initially we consider how such diversity issues may be influencing why they are seeking our services, how they may be viewing us and this process, culturally-dependent ways they may be exhibiting their symptoms, as well as how they interact and communicate with us. We must also understand the impact of culture on behavior and be cognizant of the risk of misinterpreting behaviors when making comparisons with our own culture’s norms (Gonzalez, 1995). Additionally, we should be aware of any beliefs, attitudes, biases, or prejudices, that my influence our view of clients and their difficulties. As Sue, Sue, and Sue (1997) have demonstrated, certain behaviors and traits may be seen as positive and adaptive in one culture and abnormal and maladaptive in another.

This may sound like a lot of work for us to do so that we can provide services to them. But, this is actually the essential element of an archaic view that will interfere with attempts to be competent when working with diverse groups. As our society rapidly diversifies there ceases to be an us and a them; there is only we.

In 1997 it was estimated that the U.S. population was 72.7% Caucasian, 12.1% African American, 11% Hispanic, 3.6% Pacific Islander, and 0.7% Native American, Eskimo, and Aluet (U.S. Census Bureau, 1997). But, it is predicted that by the year 2091 that our population will be close to the world balance and be 57% Asian, 26% Caucasian, 7% African American, and 10% Hispanic (Ibrahim, 1991). So why bother with all this now? We’ll all be retired (or worse) by then.

These changes are part of an ongoing process in which we are already immersed. In recent years those immigrating to the U.S. have been 42% Hispanic and 41% Asian (Ibrahim, 1991). In fact, in California those individuals previously considered minorities together now comprise the majority of the state’s population (Booth, 2000). Census data estimate that between 1990 and 1999 California’s Latino population grew by 35% and it Asian and Pacific Islander population grew by 36%. Nationally, these populations have increased by 38.8% and 43% respectively. Thus, in years to come it is likely that we will increasingly be providing assessment and treatment services to individuals with cultural, ethnic, and racial backgrounds different from our own. As our society’s population changes so too will our client base.

These data portend continued changes that will necessitate that we all possess the awareness, sensitivity, knowledge, and skills necessary to provide appropriate and competent services. We should be sensitive to the relevant sections of the APA Ethics Code (APA, 1992) and follow the guidelines suggested in the Guidelines for providers of psychological services to ethnic, linguistic, and culturally diverse populations (APA, 1993, available at http://www.apa.org/pi/oema/guide.html). We must also stay current with the rapidly changing literature on providing services to diverse groups. Finally, as Sue and Zane (1987) point out, reading the literature will never be enough. We will need to develop experience and familiarity with individuals from diverse backgrounds and do so with a spirit of acceptance and openness to learning from them.

This will require that we ensure that knowledge of relevant diversity issues becomes part of our generic competence. Graduate training programs may need to make modifications to ensure that this body of knowledge and the related skills become part of the education all future psychologists receive. In addition to the inclusion of such training in graduate school, psychologists will need to continue to enhance and update these skills.

In fact, in one state, New Mexico, psychologists must now complete six hours of diversity training before they may have their licenses renewed (The National Psychologist, 2000). But, even if not mandated by state licensure boards, it is hoped that all psychologists will consider such training to be mandatory for establishing and maintaining appropriate professional competence.

References

American Psychological Association. (1992). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct. American Psychologist, 47, 1597-1611.

American Psychological Association. (1993). Guidelines for providers of psychological services to ethnic, linguistic, and culturally diverse populations. Available at http://www.apa.org/pi/oema/guide.html

Barnett, J.E. (November, 2000). Always competent? 42 Online, the online publication of Psychologists in Independent Practice, a division of the American Psychological Association. Available at www.division42.org .

Booth, W. (August 21, 2000). California minorities are now the majority. The Washington Post, p. A1.

Gonzalez, F. (1995). Working with Mexican-American clients. Psychotherapy, 32, 696-706.

Ibrahim, F. (1991). Contribution of cultural world view to generic counseling and development. Journal of Counseling and Development, 70, 13-19.

Plummer, D. (November, 1997). Diversity issues in the assessment process. The Ohio Psychologist, 20-22.

Sue, D., Sue, D., & Sue, S. (1997). Understanding Abnormal Behavior. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Sue, & Zane, . (1987).

Sue, S. & Zane, N. (1987). The role of culture and cultural techniques in
psychotherapy: A critique and reformulation. American Psychologist, 42, 37-45.

The National Psychologist. (November/December, 2000). Cultural diversity training in New Mexico helps psychologists deal with immigrants, p.13.

U.S. Census Bureau. (1997). National population estimates. Online at path: http://ftp.census.gov/population/estimates/nation/intfile3-lotx .