"Hands-On" Learning in a Health Service Psychology Doctoral Program Through Social Justice Consultation

Although health service psychology programs recognize the need for trainees to gain multicultural competencies by working directly with diverse populations, doing so within the constraints of an academic curriculum is challenging. We describe a team-based assignment for enhancing multicultural competencies in which students engage in consultation with an identified community organization/ agency/institution to improve service delivery for a marginalized population. Students completed projects that (a) created an online educational course on trauma and resilience for displaced Syrian medical students, (b) delivered a socioemotional parenting workshop to parents in a grassroots organization, (c) trained medical residents on microaggressions within health care, and (d) presented a workshop on acculturative stress for Muslim leaders in local mosques. Projects require teams to apply theory and research to a focused, collaboratively identified problem; engage in consultation/collaboration with an agency, its professionals, and a team of peers; and practice self-reflection. Each team reflects on opportunities and challenges they experienced.