Diversity
In alignment with the Commission on Accreditation (COA) at American Psychological Association (APA) and the Association of Counseling Center Training Agencies (ACTTA), our training program holds a commitment to training interns to work with clients with diverse backgrounds and identities. In order to accomplish this goal, interns engage in clinical competency trainings and experiences, to help them achieve competency in individual and cultural diversity, as defined by the following elements set forth by APA COA:
- Demonstrate an understanding of how their own personal/cultural history, attitudes, and biases may affect how they understand and interact with people different from themselves.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the current theoretical and empirical knowledge base as it relates to addressing diversity in all professional activities including research, training, supervision/consultation, and service.
- Demonstrate the ability to integrate awareness and knowledge of individual and cultural differences, including intersectionality, in articulating an approach to working effectively with diverse individuals and groups.
- Demonstrate the ability to work effectively with individuals whose group membership, demographic characteristics, or worldviews differ with their own.
Additionally, APA sets an ethical standard that Psychologists should be competent in serving a diverse public, outlining the importance for trainees to explore how their own views, beliefs, or values may interact or impede their service to the public. Additionally, APA highlights the importance of Respect for People’s Rights and Dignity in the General Principles of their ethics code. Therefore, FAU CAPS creates experiences for trainees to explore themselves, as it relates to their clinical work.
apa.org/ed/graduate/diversity-preparation
Given the diverse student body at FAU, interns are afforded the opportunity to work with clients with varying identities and backgrounds. We acknowledge that importance of understanding cultural influences when working with students. As such, we offer training foci that provide specialized training and supervision experiences in working with students from different backgrounds. If interns are fluent in Spanish, they may be able to provide therapy in Spanish and receive supervision from a Spanish speaking supervisor. Please see our Optional Training Focus page for additional information.