Increasing transcultural competence in clinical psychologists through a web‑based training: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial
Background In mental health care, the number of patients with diverse cultural backgrounds is growing. Nevertheless, evaluated training programs for transcultural competence are missing. Barriers for engaging in transcultural therapy can be identified in patients as well as in therapists. Besides...
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Philipps-Universität Marburg
2024
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | PDF Full Text |
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| Summary: | Background In mental health care, the number of patients with diverse cultural backgrounds is growing. Nevertheless,
evaluated training programs for transcultural competence are missing. Barriers for engaging in transcultural
therapy can be identified in patients as well as in therapists. Besides language barriers, clinical psychologists report
insecurities, for example, fear of additional expenses when involving a language mediator, ethical concerns such
as power imbalances, or fear of lack of knowledge or incorrect handling when working with patients from other
cultures. Divergent values and concepts of disease, prejudices, and stereotyping are also among the issues discussed
as barriers to optimal psychotherapy care. The planned study aims to empower clinical psychologists to handle
both their own as well as patients’ barriers through a web-based training on transcultural competence.
Methods The training includes 6 modules, which are unlocked weekly. A total of N = 174 clinical psychologists are
randomly assigned to two groups: the training group (TG) works through the complete training over 6 weeks, which
includes a variety of practical exercises and self-reflections. In addition, participants receive weekly written feedback
from a trained psychologist. The waitlist control group (WL) completes the training after the end of the waiting period
(2 months after the end of the TG’s training). The primary outcome is transcultural competence. Secondary outcomes
consist of experiences in treating people from other cultures (number of patients, satisfaction and experience of competence
in treatment, etc.). Data will be collected before and after the training as well as 2 and 6 months after the end
of the training.
Discussion This randomized controlled trial tests the efficacy of and satisfaction with a web-based training
on transcultural competence for German-speaking clinical psychologists. If validated successfully, the training can
represent a time- and place-flexible training opportunity that could be integrated into the continuing education
of clinical psychologists in the long term.
Trial registration DRKS00031105. Registered on 21 February 2023. |
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| Item Description: | Gefördert durch den Open-Access-Publikationsfonds der UB Marburg. |
| Physical Description: | 13 Pages |
| DOI: | 10.1186/s13063-023-07878-w |