ADDRESSING diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) in mentorship relationships

ABSTRACT

The growing racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity within the United States underscores the importance of neuropsychologists developing cultural competence to improve patient care and support increased practitioner diversity. APA has recognized the importance of expanding the field’s diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) efforts to promote the retention of historically underrepresented practitioners and culturally competent practices. Supervisors and mentors are particularly well suited and ethically required to support DEIB-related professional development in their trainees. However, current literature suggests that a lack of time and perceived lack of competence in initiating and facilitating these conversations remain barriers to DEIB efforts. This paper aims to increase a supervisor’s/mentor’s self-efficacy in facilitating these efforts. We offer adapted theoretical models of cultural competence and provide a “tool kit” of experiential activities adapted for neuropsychologists that can be utilized to support the initiation, maintenance, and quality of DEIB-focused discussions within these relationships.

KEYWORDS:

• Mentorship
• multicultural competence
• supervision
• neuropsychology
• diversity
• equity
• inclusion
• belonging

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.