Developing competence in multicultural assessment: implications for counseling psychology training and practice.

STRENGTHS

Ridley and his associates (1998) have responded to the appeal of massive numbers of counseling psychologists who have challenged the applied psychology literature to move beyond the practice of solely discussing the importance of competent and ethical multicultural assessment to offering practical strategies about how to carry out this mission. Having been employed previously as a full-time clinician, I especially appreciated Ridley et al.'s discussion of the multiple dimensions associated with conducting a thorough psychological assessment. In particular, their summary and analysis of suggestions from the literature that relate to multicultural assessment were well-presented and highlighted the importance of cultural sensitivity in psychological assessment. In moving toward their reconceptualization of multicultural assessment, Ridley and colleagues proposed a dynamic and progressive three-phase process that encourages counselors to keep cultural data at the forefront of their consciousness in assessing clients. Before illustrating their Multicultural Assessment Procedure (MAP), they explicated 10 foundational principles that underlie their philosophy of assessment and discussed eight issues that are relevant to multicultural assessment. For the most part, the 10 fundamental precepts were clearly and concisely stated, and I was impressed by Ridley et al.'s attempts to provide a guiding framework for making sound assessment decisions. Their identification of eight issues that practitioners must consider in conducting multicultural assessment also was stimulating and thought provoking, as it underscored several salient dimensions related to effective service delivery with clients. In particular, I was pleased to see some attention paid to the role of cognitive complexity in clinical judgment and practice, as few previous writings have explored this phenomenon in sufficient detail specifically in relation to multicultural assessment, conceptualization, and treatment (Ladany, Inman, Constantine, & Hofheinz, 1997). Their discussion of the role of language in assessment also was notable. Because much of counseling and psychotherapy is rooted in verbal communication, the potential for miscommunication is heightened between counselors and clients from different cultural backgrounds (Sue & Sue, 1990). Thus, attention to the significance of language and various forms of communication is paramount to conducting competent multicultural assessment.

Ridley and associates' (1998) MAP provides both macro- and microprocedures for effective psychological assessment. I believe the MAP framework symbolizes an outstanding vehicle for increasing clinicians' competence to appraise various clinical issues or syndromes in any client population. This practical schema can be applied to virtually all clients, as it allows clinicians to understand clients' issues in relevant, culturally based contexts. On multiple levels, clients often will represent cultures (e.g., race, ethnicity, sex, socioeconomic status, etc.) that differ …