COU-773 Multicultural Interviewing and Assessment

This class provides an understanding of the importance, history and ethical/legal issues related to culturally/linguistically competent assessment. Its focus is on ethnic/racial diversity; however, deafness issues are woven into the discussion. The class will provide frameworks, approaches, considerations and strategies for engaging diverse clients, conducting culturally appropriate intakes and clinical interviews, and gathering assessment information through a variety of means. We will explore strategies for helping the client/family understand the purpose of our questions. We will look at establishing allies in the cultural communities who can help interpret culturally and linguistically. We will review the major assessment tools and tests used with standard, culturally diverse and special need populations, focusing on understanding the appropriateness and usefulness of the instruments relative to the backgrounds of the clients, the protocols utilized, potential biases and how validity might be affected. We will examine use of the results, including feedback to the client and family, recommendations and referrals.