Future Psychotherapists

The field of psychology is multifaceted, as psychologists work with multiple populations, cultures, and ethnicities across different settings and specialties. Therefore, individuals who are training to become psychologists should strive to be competent in each of those areas. Specifically, future psychotherapists should prepare themselves and obtain a sufficient amount of experience in dealing with diverse cultures and populations. To be most effective when dealing with diverse populations, future therapists should understand themselves, as well as the culture and/or ethnicity of the individual they will be working with.
Before researching specific cultures, ethnicities, and populations, therapists should frequently engage in self-reflection to obtain a better understanding of themselves. Understanding oneself can have multiple benefits for the therapeutic relationship. Specifically, if a therapist understands his or her biases, ethnicity, worldview, culture, and awareness for other cultures, then he or she may be able to integrate that knowledge into the approach taken with clients. Personal biases are important to understand
For future therapists, the importance of becoming culturally competent is invaluable. It is inevitable that therapists will work with a wide variety of cultures, ethnicities, and populations, especially when practicing in urban areas. Through understanding oneself therapists can become more confident and in touch with his or her personal biases and feelings for different populations. In addition, it is also beneficial for therapists to put forth extra effort when working with a new and unfamiliar population, so they can better understand and empathize with the client. By completing each of those steps, therapists will likely be more successful when dealing with diverse