Twentieth International Conference on Diversity in Organizations, Communities & Nations

Abstract

This session explores a revision to multicultural and trauma-informed practice standards found within social service competency statements, and is the subject of a textbook currently in process by the workshop presenters. The authors propose that a synthesis of multicultural and trauma-informed knowledge, skill, and disposition standards need to inform a new set of integrated competencies entitled Multicultural Trauma-Informed (MCTI) Standards for Practice. Many professions require its practitioners to demonstrate multicultural competencies due to social-cultural trauma requiring advocacy and care. However, rarely do these statements identify trauma-informed competencies. Likewise, various professions also require trauma-informed competencies but give little to no attention to the prevalence and impact of social-cultural trauma. Constituent care and advocacy efforts are hence threatened by partial understanding.The session details current multicultural and trauma-informed competencies, including research advances in epigenetic multigenerational transmission processes of historic trauma. A proposed MCTI Standards for Practice for use by a variety of human service professions is presented, along with case application examples. Participants are invited to participate in a content validity evaluation of the document, modeling the inclusion of knowledge domains outside of the authors’ expertise. This session draws on a variety of disciplines to recognize how professional silos characterized by lack of awareness or permission to cross-collaborate thwart the efficacy of our common efforts. A desired outcome of MCTI Standards for Practice is to enable a multitude of professions and aid organizations to embrace an ecosystemic understanding of trauma, informing best-practices in response.