Depth of discussion of multicultural identities in supervision and supervisory outcomes

Discussions of personal identity in genetic counseling supervision

Fieldwork supervision is integral to genetic counseling students' training and has the potential to impact how included students feel in the genetic counseling field. For example, in related counseling fields, when supervisees and supervisors discuss their personal similarities or differences in ethnicity, supervisees report a stronger supervisory working alliance (SWA) (Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 2001, 29, 102-113). However, the application of these studies on identity discussions to the genetic counseling field is currently unknown. The objective of this cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was to investigate (a) if genetic counseling students report having discussions of personal identity during fieldwork supervision, (b) who initiated any such discussions, (c) if there was a difference in the supervisory relationship between those who did and did not have discussions of personal identity, and (d) how students perceived the inclusivity of the genetic counseling profession and their genetic counseling programs. Discussions of personal identity were defined in this study as "discussions happening during supervision regarding how one or more aspects of personal identity impacts the provision of genetic counseling services and/or professional interactions" where personal identity included the student or supervisor's gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, religion, disability status or other aspect of identity. Almost 40% of the participants (N = 190) reported discussing personal identity with their supervisor. For students identifying as white, discussions of personal identity were related to a stronger SWA (p = 0.014). However, for those with minoritized identities there was no relationship between the SWA and discussions of personal identity. Therefore, it is unclear from the current research whether discussions of personal identity can be an effective tool in improving inclusivity in the field of genetic counseling. Additional research is needed to explore the direct impact of identity discussions on the supervisory working alliance in genetic counseling supervision.

Diversity Wanted! Utilizing Transdisciplinary Scholarship on Structural Inequality to Educate Psychology Graduate Students

INTRODUCTION

The scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) should promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice for the next generation of psychologists.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

I worry that the SoTL propagates an exclusionary field that becomes increasingly irrelevant in our diverse society given that graduate curricula largely exclude scholarship on structural inequality.

LITERATURE REVIEW

I detail the process of graduate curricular changes in my current department, with a focus on my new required graduate course, Diversity, Systems, and Inequality. I utilize scholarship from law, sociology, philosophy, women and gender studies, education, and psychology.

TEACHING IMPLICATIONS

I provide the structure and content of the course-including syllabi and lecture slides-as well as modes of assessment that promote inclusivity and critical thinking. I detail how current faculty can learn to incorporate the content of this work into their own teaching and scholarship through weekly journal clubs.

CONCLUSION

SoTL outlets can publish transdisciplinary, inclusive course materials regarding structural inequality, thus mainstreaming and amplifying such work for the benefit of the field and our world.

ADDRESSING diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) in mentorship relationships

The growing racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity within the United States underscores the importance of neuropsychologists developing cultural competence to improve patient care and support increased practitioner diversity. APA has recognized the importance of expanding the field's diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) efforts to promote the retention of historically underrepresented practitioners and culturally competent practices. Supervisors and mentors are particularly well suited and ethically required to support DEIB-related professional development in their trainees. However, current literature suggests that a lack of time and perceived lack of competence in initiating and facilitating these conversations remain barriers to DEIB efforts. This paper aims to increase a supervisor's/mentor's self-efficacy in facilitating these efforts. We offer adapted theoretical models of cultural competence and provide a "tool kit" of experiential activities adapted for neuropsychologists that can be utilized to support the initiation, maintenance, and quality of DEIB-focused discussions within these relationships.

Creating and Elaborating the Cultural Third: A Doers-Doing with Perspective on Psychoanalytic Supervision

Although recognized as highly crucial to supervision practice (e.g., Tummala-Narra, 2004), culture has been addressed minimally in the psychoanalytic supervision literature. Calls to remedy that limitation have been made and making culture matter has been identified as a most pressing need for psychoanalytic supervision. But how then do we as supervisors go about doing that? How might we better position culture in, and make culture central to, our psychoanalytic supervisory conceptualization and conduct? We subsequently take up those questions, expanding upon our earlier proposals about cultural humility and the Cultural Third (Watkins and Hook, 2016) by (a) proposing a tripartite multicultural perspective (i.e., cultural humility-cultural comfort-cultural opportunities) as supervision sine qua non; (b) using recognition theory as a way to better understand that very process of Third creation and elaboration; and (c) providing a rupture/repair case example that shows efforts to create and build the Cultural Third in supervision. The Cultural Third is conceptualized as a product of doers-doing with so as to culturally learn together through "not knowing".