Development of culturally sensitive psychotherapists.

We propose a developmental model to describe how student-therapists learn to appropriately consider cultural factors in their clinical work with culturally diverse clients. The model is derived from discussions held in a seminar concerning mental health services and culture and from students' written accounts of how they considered cultural factors in providing therapy. Vignettes based on the written accounts are presented to illustrate the key developmental processes hypothesized to underlie psychotherapists' growing cultural sensitivity. The proposed model is contrasted with past models of therapist development. A research agenda guided by a social cognitive perspective is offered to test the proposed model. Many authors have written about how mental health professionals need to be sensitive to cultural issues in their clinical practice. Some authors have framed these concerns within the context of ethics (Pedersen & Marsella, 1982). Others have attempted to identify specific competencies and guidelines associated with the effective treatment and assessment of special populations (Figueroa, Sandoval, & Merino, 1984; D. W. Sue et al., 1982; S. Sue & Zane, 1987). The perspective taken in this literature is that of the expert pointing out why cultural skills are important and what one should do to enhance one's expertise in this area. Authors have given little attention to the perspective of the student developing or improving skills in the assessment and treatment of special populations. Given the overall lack of attention to students' training in these areas, we know little about the developmental processes associated with such training.