Guided by an appreciation and respect for individual and cultural differences, La Salle University’s Psy.D. Program is committed to promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. We value the multiple and intersecting identities of our students, trainees, faculty, supervisors, and staff. We adhere to La Salle University’s statement and the APA’s Multicultural Guidelines.
We understand that the study of human behavior cannot be pursued without deep appreciation of the sociocultural context within which individuals operate. The practice of psychology must take into account our client’s multiple and intersecting identities, and these must be considered alongside diagnostic assessment, integrated within case conceptualization, and appreciated throughout the treatment planning process. We are committed to training psychologists who demonstrate cultural humility; who deliver culturally informed and culturally responsive services that center the individual’s dignity, worth, and value; and recognize the sociocultural contexts within which individual’s function.
We also acknowledge that in our historical past, psychological research and clinical practices have been used by some groups to cause harm to certain minoritized groups. These practices (e.g., the use of conversion therapies, use of intelligence tests to validate Eugenic philosophies and practices and maintain race and class hierarchies, inadequately representative sampling practices) have contributed to inequitable systems of power, promoted marginalization and oppression, and caused harm. We strive to bring this awareness into our curriculum and training experiences in order to better understand where systems of oppression and marginalization continue to harm individuals, to improve the cultural responsivity of our assessment and treatment practices, and to proactively increase the accessibility of psychological services to individuals across social and cultural groups and statuses.
The PsyD faculty are committed to covering issues of diversity (including, age, developmental and acquired disability, religion, ethnicity, race, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, national origin, language, and gender) throughout the curriculum. These topics are not isolated in one or two courses or training experiences, but rather distributed and integrated across the curriculum. The faculty are committed to creating an affirming learning environment that supports a diversity of thoughts, perspectives, and experiences, and honors the identities of all students.
The PsyD faculty and students are jointly committed to engaging in an ongoing process of personal reflection that includes the following: