Voices of marriage and family therapists of color: An exploratory survey

A survey was sent to members of the AALANA (African American, Latino/a, Asian and Native American) group, and other Marriage and Family Therapists (MFTs) of color. The survey contained questions regarding the participant's experiences around multicultural training in their graduate programs, the impact of their own ethnic identity on their work, their experiences within AAMFT (American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy), and areas related to multi-Elizabeth culturalism that they believe need further research. Fifteen participants responded to the survey. The data were analyzed using qualitative methods. Results indicated that the participants rated their multicultural training as being inadequate and expressed the need for a more diverse training environment. All participants felt their own ethnicity had a tremendous impact on who they were and on their clinical work. Experiences within AAMFT were reportedly mixed with some positive and negative responses. The participants identified a variety of important areas for further research. The findings suggested in this study have important implications for training programs, educators, AAMFT, and the field in general.