2012

Both didactic and experiential components have been used in multicultural training with goals of developing counselor cultural competencies. Priester et al. (2008) examined syllabi from introductory master’s level multicultural counseling courses, and found that the majority of course content focused on developing cultural awareness and cultural knowledge. Awareness and knowledge are associated with the cognitive learning domain (Hardy & Laszloffy, 1995). Learning occurring at a cognitive or intellectual level may limit a student’s ability to integrate awareness and knowledge into practice, thereby limiting the acquisition of multicultural skills. Heppner and O’Brien (1994) suggested that cognitive, affective, and behavioral learning domains are most affected by experiential components that are well integrated into the course content. In summarizing a recent review of research examining outcomes of multicultural counselor training, Malott (2010) concluded that a single multicultural course does have a positive impact in developing multicultural competency.