1. Considering ethnic diversity in clinical supervision and clinical practice
- Author
-
Roche, Ayesha and Barkham, Michael
- Subjects
150 - Abstract
The United Kingdom (UK) is becoming increasingly diverse, highlighting the need for mental health services to respond adequately to the communities they serve. Previous research highlights ethnic inequalities occurring across a range of mental health services, including psychological services. This suggests that services and practitioners may not be recognising and responding adequately to the culturally informed needs of individuals. The first part of the thesis reports a systematic literature review exploring the impact of culturally competent clinical supervision on psychological practitioners in training. Results found evidence to suggest that highlighting and discussing cultural issues in supervision can positively impact the supervisory relationship and supervisee's satisfaction with supervision. There is preliminary evidence that culturally competent supervision can also positively influence supervisee practice. The second part of the thesis aimed to identify the nature of ethnic inequalities occurring within psychological services in the UK, using routinely collected data. The study aimed to explore ethnic differences occurring at service intake, across therapy outcomes, and across therapy processes. The results found evidence of significant ethnic inequalities occurring at each stage examined. Patients from ethnic minority backgrounds presented to services with significantly higher levels of psychological distress and subsequently had poorer psychological outcomes following therapy. Patients from ethnic minority groups were also more likely to be perceived as having a poorer quality of engagement in therapy. Together the two studies highlight the need to consistently monitor and address ethnic inequalities in psychological services and to systematically ensure cultural competence development is prioritised throughout practitioner training programmes.
- Published
- 2017