Theory and Practice: Assessing the psychological presentation of gifted and talented clients: a multicultural perspective

Researchers suggest that gifted individuals have both strengths and areas of intrapersonal and interpersonal concerns as a result of their talents. The purpose of this paper is to apply a multicultural model of psychological assessment, the Multicultural Assessment Procedure (MAP), to better understand the social and emotional needs of gifted clients. This application is based on the following assumptions: a) giftedness is a sub-culture, b) people with special gifts also identify with and operate in multiple cultural contexts, and c) in order to be effective in working with gifted clients, one must accurately understand the interaction of the client’s multiple cultural identities. Implications for counselling practice are discussed.