Charting a Course for Research in Multicultural Counseling Training

Abstract

This article presents an integrative reaction to the lead contributions by Kiselica, Lark and Paul, and Rooney, Flores, and Mercier. Following the narrative path set by these contributors, the author begins with some personal reflections regarding his own multicultural development. A theme analysis of the lead contributions, along with the author's own experiences, leads to the delineation of 31 characteristics of effective multicultural training organized in three sections: characteristics of effective trainers and mentors, characteristics of promising trainees, and characteristics of facilitative training environments. The second half of this article presents both a general and specific research agenda for multicultural counseling training in the coming decade. Building from the identified themes, research recommendations are presented in five areas: racial identity development, multicultural competency assessment, mentoring, model programs, and the role of program diversity in training effectiveness. The article closes with a general discussion of the current and evolving status of multicultural counseling research. Embedded in the proposed research agenda is a strong call for qualitative research methods.