Diversity and Inclusion

The Brigham Young University Clinical Psychology Program is Strongly committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion with respect to all areas of diversity, including racial, ethnic, cultural, religious, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, age, ability and others. Our program values diversity in students and minority students are particularly encouraged to apply for admission. We are also committed to training students prepared to serve diverse communities.

Our program adheres closely to our university, college, and department statements on diversity and inclusion and we regularly participate in campus DEI initiatives.

Diversity Committee

While students and faculty have worked together to further DEI in our program for years, we formed an official student-faculty clinical psychology diversity committee in 2020 with the following goals and specific tasks:

• Provide training regarding diversity and inclusion with respect to the care of our clients.
• Provide regular training for students about treating clients from diverse backgrounds.
  *Recently this has included training on antiracism in psychotherapy, multicultural orientation in
  psychological practice, and implicit bias regarding race and racism.
• Improve diversity and inclusion with respect to the experience of students, faculty, and staff
  within the clinical psychology program. 
• Facilitate enhanced training for clinical supervisors on culturally sensitive supervision practices.
• Assist with training and instruction to help clinical psychology program members advocate
  for themselves and others with respect to diversity and inclusion.
• Provide access to resources that support self-care for students from diverse backgrounds.
• Support diversity and inclusion efforts in our research.
• Have faculty members and graduate students regularly present research on topics related to diversity. 
• Support and encourage faculty in attending conferences and training opportunities to continue their
  learning about DEI practices.
• Advocate for diversity among our faculty and students to prepare graduates to enter a diverse workforce.
• Recruit diverse students for admission, including an annual Diversifying Clinical Psychology event.
• Provide a welcoming environment for potential students, including a BIPOC Brunch hosted as part of
  admission interviews.
• Publish a newsletter for students and faculty, drawing their attention to diversity related events
  happening across campus. 
• Attend faculty meetings to contribute with diversity training in mind. (1 member of the committee)
• Participate in department and college diversity initiatives, including an annual department workshop
  to prepare BIPOC students for graduate training.
• Provide training in advocacy to increase inclusion and diversity in the clinical psychology workforce.

Sexual and Gender Diversity

Our program is committed to training psychologists who adhere to APA Practice Guidelines, including the Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Sexual Minorities and Guidelines for Practice with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming people. We welcome and encourage dialogue between students, faculty, and other stakeholders regarding how to improve affirming psychological practice with LGBTQIA+ populations.

Our faculty members regularly receive grants from the Women’s Research Institute to pursue research
related to gender, gender diversity, and sexual orientation diversity.