DEMYSTIFYING THE CONCEPT OF ETHNICITY FOR PSYCHOTHERAPY RESEARCHERS

At a time when ethnic minority populations are increasing in the Unite d States, few psychotherapy studies are including minorities in their samples. To include ethnic minorities in psychotherapy studies, the co mplex construct of ethnicity must be carefully measured. In this artic le, practical advice is offered for conceptualizing, measuring, and in terpreting ethnic factors in psychotherapy studies. Also discussed are identifying pathways from ethnicity to psychotherapy outcomes. Pathwa ys that may influence ethnic differences in psychotherapy outcome incl ude cultural factors, minority status, socioeconomic status, accultura tion, and immigration experiences.