The impact of the experiential multicultural counseling training program on counselor trainee cross -cultural competence

This dissertation evaluated the impact of an experientially based training program on counseling trainees' cross-cultural counseling skills. The study incorporated a randomized pretest-post-test control group design and a correlational design. Counseling trainees for the University of San Francisco's Center for Child and Family Development were randomly assigned into a treatment and a control group (treatment N = 9, control N = 8). Both groups were video recorded responding to videotaped counseling vignettes prior to training; the responses were rated on the Interpersonal Intercultural Functioning Rating Scale (IIFRS) as a pretest measure. The same procedure was repeated after the training to yield post-test data. The Multicultural Awareness-Knowledge-Skill Survey (MAKASS-C) developed by D'Andrea, Daniels, and Hicks (1991) was used as a post-test.;The treatment group scored significantly higher than the control group on the IFRS subscales for Empathy, Respect, Immediacy, Cultural Intentionality, and Counseling Technique. The treatment group scored significantly higher on the MAKASS-C Counseling Skill subscale. A significant positive correlation between counselor trainee age and MAKASS-C Counseling Skill subscale was found. There was a significant negative correlation between counselor trainee income level and the MAKASS-C subscale measuring self-awareness of cultural influences.;The experientially based exercises from the EMCT program appeared to significantly increase the cross-cultural abilities of counseling trainees. This study provided support for the inclusion of experiential cross-cultural programs by counseling training sites to better prepare counselors for serving out increasingly diverse communities.