Tailor Made: Adapting Psychotherapeutic Interventions

Abstract

With increased diversity and globalization, there is increased emphasis on awareness of cultural influences on functioning and in fostering cultural competence. This is particularly important in the context of intervention planning and acceptability. The standard approach is through didactic coursework; however the extent to which the content of the courses is ‘universal’ and includes relevance for intervention is unknown. The purpose of this content analysis was to determine whether or not cultural competence is addressed in psychotherapeutic intervention coursework. Direct intervention syllabi from APA accredited school psychology doctoral programs were analyzed. Findings suggest that cultural competence is minimally addressed in intervention courses. Similarly, the mechanisms for culturally adapting interventions are rarely addressed. Findings further suggest that when addressing cultural competence intervention courses focus on applying knowledge to the delivery of services. Understanding the content of current curricula may provide trainers with information to aid in designing their curriculum so that pre service school psychologists may matriculate with a broader basic therapy skill set.