Facilitating Faculty Development for Training in Multicultural Competence in Health Service Psychology Graduate Programs Through an International Collaboration

Abstract

Abstract: A critical aspect of strengthening graduate-level clinical and counseling psychology training in cultural competence is to build capacity among faculty teaching in these programs to provide effective training. We addressed this need through an international collaboration between a university in India and another in the United States that included faculty travel to another country, peer mentoring groups, and review of curricula. This article describes faculty perceptions of this program and its perceived impact on their professional development and outlines curricular and research outcomes that resulted from the program. Across 4 years, a total of eight faculty visits took place with Indian faculty ( n = 13) visiting the United States and US faculty ( n = 11) visiting India. After each visit, faculty at both institutions responded to open-ended questions about the usefulness of these visits and completed a rating scale at the end of the program through an online survey. Faculty from both countries indicated that the visits contributed to enhanced cultural awareness and sensitivity by broadening their perspectives and learning about cultural similarities and differences. Indian faculty described learning about new pedagogical methods and enhanced motivation to engage in research and publish, along with new collaborative opportunities. US faculty described incorporating cultural competence more centrally in their teaching and clinical supervision through increased commitment, as well as inclusion of more global and diverse content and assignments aimed to increase students’ cultural competence. These responses provide preliminary support for the usefulness of cultural immersion experiences for faculty professional development.