Multicultural Orientation and Deliberate Practice Coaching: An Empirically Supported Case Study

ABSTRACT Background Therapists may benefit from continued training to enhance their multicultural skills when working with clients from diverse backgrounds and identities. Although the Multicultural Orientation (MCO) framework emphasises attention to in‐session cultural processes and the therapeutic alliance, few studies have examined specific training methodologies that effectively foster these skills. This pilot study tested a deliberate practice–based model to enhance the MCO competencies of therapists‐in‐training. Method Two therapists‐in‐training were recruited to participate in the study. Prior to receiving any MCO coaching or deliberate practice, they responded to a series of video vignettes portraying counselling scenarios that involved cultural issues. The participants then received four deliberate practice coaching sessions over the course of eight weeks that targeted their MCO skills. They were then asked to respond to a different series of culturally focused video vignettes after completing the MCO coaching. Both participants' pre‐training and post‐training scores were blindly coded by a team of coders and estimates of cultural comfort, cultural humility and cultural opportunities were calculated and compared at the two different time points. Participants also completed semi‐structured interviews to assess their perceptions of the training experience. Results Results illustrated that both participants demonstrated improvements across all domains of MCO. Interviews with participants also showed that they found the MCO coaching to be helpful and individualised to their training needs. Conclusions Findings provide preliminary evidence that deliberate practice supervision may support the development of MCO‐related skills. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.