The Multicultural Toolkit was developed as a joint project between APA Division 29 and APA Division 42 in order to provide information to current and aspiring psychologists and advocates. Our most immediate goals are that this material will create opportunities for practitioners to enhance their therapeutic skills related to multicultural responsiveness. Divisions 42 and 29 have a profound commitment to providing their membership with tools for self exploration, professional development, and scholarly information regarding the practical application of multicultural counseling skills. In addition, we also hope that visitors will use these resources as a forum for dialogue on issues related to the practice of multicultural psychology. The information contained on this website is provided to serve as foundational…as beginning point of sorts, not all encompassing. The members of the taskforce would like to encourage those who view the information on this website to supplement the information contained here with cultural immersion experiences, additional readings and dialogue with colleagues.
As psychologists, we acknowledge, welcome, and respect the diversity in the individuals and families whom we serve. Whether it is the result of culture, religious affiliation, lifestyle, gender or some other aspect of identity, psychologists may find themselves limited by their lack of experience or prior training in multicultural responsiveness. We developed these resources as a way to support those practitioners in providing ethical and culturally responsive information that will, hopefully, enhance services to their clients.
It is our hope that the information contained on the Division 29 and Division 42 websites serves as a resource when we find ourselves at a loss with our clients, yet have the desire to expand our “toolkit” with additional information. Even when our clientele are not so different from us, as professionals, we are called on by the highest professional standards to educate ourselves in these areas. We encourage and support multicultural responsiveness as divisions of the APA and recognize that it is our responsibility to provide ongoing opportunities to enhance these skills.
This multicultural toolkit has been designed so that you will find opportunities to explore your own worldview and those of others and assess your multicultural responsiveness. We have included research articles, books, art, quick references and multiple other forms of resources to help you understand the perspective of multicultural communities. Hopefully these resources will allow you to expand your working knowledge base as you strive to work with multicultural communities. Finally, this resource will also serve as a “cyber community” consisting of open and honest professionals, at different stages of development, serving as a collective, mutual resource. What you see here are our first steps in developing these resources. We are in the process of adding interviews with experts in the field, additional resources and tools and as way for practitioners to communicate and dialogue with one another. Check back often as we continue to add additional information and resources.
Enjoy and let us know how we continue developing this site to better serve you.
View content here: Multicultural Toolkit Resources
Sincerely,
The Multicultural Toolkit Task force
Members of the task force include:
Doug Haldeman, Ph.D. (co-chair, Division 42)
Miguel E. Gallardo, Psy.D. (co-chair, Division 29)
Rosemary Adam-Terem, Ph.D. (Division 29)
Caryn Rodgers, Ph.D. (Division 29)
Konjit Page, Ph.D. (Division 42)
Kirstyn Yuk Sim Chun, Ph.D. (Division 42)
Rochelle Balter, Ph.D. (Division 42)
Bonita Cade, Ph.D. (Division 29)