An Assessment of Doctor of Psychology Programs and Cultural Awareness Achievement among Students

The purpose of this descriptive quantitative study is to explore the relationship between the efficacy of multicultural awareness of Doctoral training of clinical psychology and competency in providing psychotherapy services to African American clients. This research is to assess the competency of doctoral students of clinical psychology as it relates to their exposure to African American culture (EAAC) and advanced multicultural therapeutic training (AMTT) received in their doctoral programs, specifically, the academic multicultural training, the training sites where academics are implemented, and the multicultural awareness efficacy of students. The demographic questionnaire assessed EAAC and AMTT. The Cross-cultural Competency Inventory Revised (CCCI-R) scale assessed the efficacy of counseling styles, responses, and interventions with diverse cultural populations. Results showed that neither training nor exposure were statistically significant for skills. Results also showed that exposure was statistically significant (p = 0.001) for awareness with those participants having exposure having higher awareness compared to those participants who did not have exposure. However, training was not significant for awareness. Additionally, results showed that exposure was significant for sensitivity with those participants having exposure having statistically (p = 0.023) greater awareness compared to those without exposure. Training was found not to be significant for sensitivity. Overall, the findings may be used in reflecting the necessity for students to receive multicultural awareness training both academically and practically. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]