Evaluating the Organizational Cultural Competence of a University-based Psychology Training Clinic: Why Now and how to do it?

Culture plays an important role in shaping individuals’ mental health and well-being. Not surprisingly, members of various ethnocultural communities have different needs and preferences when accessing mental health services. With the ever-growing diversity in Canada, there is a strong need for culturally competent mental health services. Culturally competency in mental healthcare has been found to be linked to reduced health inequities and improved clinical outcomes for ethnic minority populations. Broadly defined, cultural competency can be understood as having a set of attitudes, necessary knowledge, and skills to effectively provide services to individuals from diverse backgrounds. At the present, the body of research literature primarily focuses on cultural competency assessed at the individual service provider level, while studies that evaluate organizational-level cultural competence remain scant. The purpose of this program evaluation is to assess the level of organizational cultural competence of a university-based clinical psychology training clinic located in a large Canadian city. Key stakeholders (namely clinical supervisors, trainee clinicians, and clients) are being surveyed on a host of indicators based on six key areas of organizational cultural competence, and data collection is currently underway. The goal of this presentation is to present audience members with an organizational cultural competence framework and to outline the steps of conducting such an evaluation. Challenges and lessons learned from conducting the evaluation will be discussed. Audience members will be encouraged to reflect upon the various ways in which organizational cultural competence can be strengthened in their own settings.