THE SKILLS OF THE MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPIST IN STRADDLING MULTICULTURAL ISSUES

The Purpose of this paper is to begin differentiating skills needed fo r work with multicultural families from skills needed for mainstream A nglo-American families. In addition to the latter, the multicultural f amily therapist (MCFT) needs to be more aware of cultural diversity, m ore sensitive to differences in cultural nuances by avoiding stereotyp ing, and more flexible than in dealing with mainstream families. In ad dition, relationship skills need to be focused in ways that may be con trary to traditional practices, while structuring skills may need to b e tailored to the specific needs of multicultural families.