Culturally Sensitive Clinical Practices: A Mixed Methods Study

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to discover if and how clinicians integrate cultural factors into treatment, what specific 'culturally sensitive' practices clinicians utilize, and who clinicians use these practices with. In Study 1(N = 9) qualitative interviews were conducted with psychologists who shared information about the culturally sensitive clinical practices that they utilize. Based on the results from Study 1, a survey was created for Study 2 and completed by 142 psychologists. There were three overriding conceptual themes that were generated from the analysis of the data regarding how clinicians provide culturally sensitive psychological services and what specific culturally sensitive clinical practices clinicians use when working with clients. It was evident from the data that the delivery of culturally sensitive services was best conceptualized as a process. The process began with being aware that cultural factors existed. This awareness led to the development of hypotheses, which guided the assessment process. Based on the results of the assessment process clinicians then tailored the services they provided to the unique characteristics of their clients. The quantitative results from Study 2 indicate that that the qualitative results from Study 1 are generalizable to a larger sample of psychologists. Results from Study 2 also indicated that the vast majority of participants indicated that they engaged in culturally sensitive clinical practices regardless of client minority-status.