Conferences will explore ethnicity, multicultural issues

Psychologists are using conferences and continuing-education platforms to explore ethnicity and multicultural issues that will affect the profession in the 21st century.

Some examples include:

? The National Multicultural Conference and Summit, to be held Jan. 28?29 in Newport Beach, Calif. Richard Suinn, PhD, APA?s first Asian-American president, will deliver the keynote address. Hosting the event are APA Divs. 17 (Counseling), 35 (Psychology of Women), 45 (Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues), and the California School of Professional Psychology. For information on registering for the summit, contact Accounting/Division Multicultural Conference Registration at the APA address, (901) 678-5426; fax (202) 336-5693. Registration is $160. Graduate students pay $105.

? 'Confronting race and racism in psychology and education,' the theme of the 16th annual winter roundtable on cross-cultural psychology and education at Teachers College, Columbia University. The event, to be held Feb. 19 and 20, highlights recent developments in cross-cultural theory, practice and research. For more information, contact Lisa Orbé or Wendy Katz at (212) 678-4111, or visit the web site at www.tc.columbia.edu/~academic/roundtable.

? 'The Cultural Impact Conference,' held in October by the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. This biennial event provides mental health-care professionals with workshops on providing services to different cultural groups. Topics included racism?s impact on mental health, therapy with African-American couples and cross-cultural perspectives on parenting.

? 'Innovations in Chicano psychology: looking toward the 21st century,' hosted last spring by Michigan State University. This was the first gathering of Chicano psychologists in more than 15 years. The conference focused on the latest clinical research on Chicano populations. Topics included HIV prevention programs for Mexican/Chicano farmworkers, forensic assessment of Chicano youth and the quality of life for Mexican immigrants and their families. Robert Velasquez, PhD, a member of APA?s Committee on Ethnic Minority Affairs, was conference director.