| Intense training in mental health professional curricula may help increase awareness of learned prejudices and biases. Racism is a deeply rooted and learned behavior, which requires more than a cursory course in diversity. Mental health professionals have frequently acknowledged the lack of cultural preparedness in providing services to a diverse population. The purpose of this survey study was to determine whether personal and professional beliefs about diversity are related to the level of cultural diversity training of master-level mental health professionals. The survey explored the perceived cultural preparedness of the professionals. Surveys were mailed to 560 participants who are licensed social workers, counselors, and marriage and family therapists in the state of North Carolina. The Personal and Professional Beliefs Scales designed by Pohan and Aguilar in 1994 were used to measure personal and professional beliefs about diversity. An adapted version of Polk's 1999 Cultural Preparedness Scale was used to measure the perceived cultural preparedness of mental health professionals. The study revealed there is a positive relationship between mental health professionals' personal beliefs and cultural competency. It could not be concluded there is a relationship between the number of cultural-competency-related training courses and higher personal beliefs about cultural competency. Another result indicated there is no relationship between cultural competence education and training and variance in professional beliefs. Finally, the study found there is a positive relationship between cultural competence education and training in mental health professionals' perceptions of their cultural competence. There was no statistically significant difference in average ratings between licensed clinical social workers (LCSWs), licensed professional counselors (LPCs), and licensed marriage therapist (LMFTs). The LPC and LMFT groups had statistically higher average personal beliefs ratings compared to the LCSW group. This study has implications for the methods by which mental health professionals are trained to work with other cultures and the perception of cultural competency. |
