A Multicultural Orientation Framework Approach to Addressing Racial Disparities in Behavioral Health Care

Presenter Name: Karen Tao, PhD

Presenter Bio: Dr. Karen Tao is an Associate Professor in the Counseling and Counseling Psychology in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Utah. She also directs the Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC) master’s program. Karen’s clinical and research interests are guided by an overarching goal to reduce disparities in the access, service, and quality of mental health and education for historically marginalized groups. She is interested in the questions, “How do people negotiate conversations about difference and culture?” and “Why does multicultural competence matter?”  Karen conducts research in counseling and school settings, utilizing qualitative and quantitative methods to identify cultural factors related to client improvement and student academic persistence. 

Session Description: Professionals committed to providing racially just mental health services are encouraged to develop a clear understanding of individual, interpersonal, and systemic layers of racial bias within the mental health care system. This module will begin with an overview of barriers clients who are marginalized based on their social identities face when attempting to access quality mental health services. This will be followed by an introduction to the Multicultural Orientation (MCO) framework and its influence on clients as well practical tools for how to integrate MCO in therapy (and beyond). MCO is broadly conceptualized as a framework centering a therapist’s way of being with their clients, which are influenced by their own and their clients’ worldview, identities, histories, and values. The MCO framework is comprised of three interrelated pillars: (a) cultural humility, defined as a therapist’s tendency to be other-oriented, curious, and open to diverse perspectives; (b) cultural opportunity, or the degree to which a counselor picks up on and addresses cultural themes in therapy when they arise; and (c) cultural comfort, or the counselor’s level of calm and courage in engaging in discussions of culture and identity. Several studies demonstrate the relationship between MCO and clinical outcomes. For example, clients who perceive their therapists as attending to cultural conversations about clients’ salient identities (e.g., race, gender, sexuality etc..) and as being more culturally humble reported better therapy outcomes. A recent qualitative study also illustrated the various windows of cultural opportunity for therapists and clients to consider cultural formulations of mental health concerns. This module will help students, providers, and educators enhance their understanding of how “every interaction is a multicultural interaction.”

Learning Objectives:
LO 1: Identify at least one clinical implication of racism and racial trauma for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color

LO 2: Define the three pillars of the Multicultural Orientation (MCO) framework 

LO 3: Apply at least one aspect of the MCO framework to clinical practice 

LO 4: Understand how cultural fortitude offers a pathway toward racial healing and cultural repair 

Accessibility statement: SF State Department of Counseling’s Equity and Justice – Focused Integrated Behavioral Health project welcomes persons with disabilities and will provide reasonable accommodations (including ASL interpretation) upon request. If you need reasonable accommodations for this event, please make your request by contacting Julie Chronister jchronis@sfsu.edu by Friday 1/21/22.

Continuing Education Information

The Department of Counseling at San Francisco State University, an accredited post-secondary educational institution, maintains responsibility for the program and its content. Real-time attendance at this webinar has been approved for 1.0 hours of continuing education credit for LMFT, LPCC, and/or LCSW as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (BPC 4980.54, 4989.34, 4996.22, 4999.76). Please direct concerns about this course or its content to Tiffany O’Shaughnessy, PhD taosh@sfsu.edu

There is no cost to attend this webinar. Participants desiring CEU credit for attending this webinar will be directed to sign in at the start of the webinar and will be required to provide an evaluation of the session directly following the webinar and verify their participation and attendance. CEU certificates will be emailed to participants who successfully complete both the sign in and evaluation process.