Clinical Psychology Program Statement on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Western’s Graduate Program in Clinical Psychology aspires to promote an equitable, diverse, and inclusive community. Human diversity enriches our lives, research, clinical work, and graduate program. Diversity leads to richer perspectives, increased complexity of thought, innovation, and inclusive learning environments. We recognize the systemic barriers that exist for groups who may be marginalized, and work, as faculty members and graduate students, to help shift systemic and structural practices that perpetuate differential treatment and injustice within the academy and in clinical work. At the same time, we acknowledge that we have a long way toward making meaningful change.
Our program recognizes that excellence in clinical psychology is inseparable from equity. We acknowledge that diverse social identities—including Indigeneity, race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, religion, age, and social class—enrich our community. Recognizing the systemic disparities and inequities inherent in the field of mental health, we are committed to doing what we can as a program housed within a larger administrative departmental and university structure to dismantle these barriers. For example, we are actively working toward exploring ways to increase diverse representation in the graduate program.
Our program strives to integrate sociocultural considerations not as adjunct topics, but as foundational pillars of our research and clinical training. We aim to ensure that our students develop cultural humility and competency through the following structural approaches:
- Curriculum Integration: Rather than isolating diversity to a single course, we aim to embed individual, social, and cultural diversity across all core clinical graduate training. This includes critical analyses of bias in psychological assessment, the impact of systemic oppression on diagnostic frameworks, and the application of culturally adapted evidence-based interventions.
- Research: We work to consider the sociocultural context of our scientific inquiry (e.g., representation of diverse participants, generalizability of findings, and the ethical implications of knowledge dissemination in minoritized marginalized communities).
- Clinical Supervision: Clinical development is supported by supervision that explicitly addresses the power dynamics of the therapeutic relationship and the intersectional identities of both the student and the client.
- Ethics and Professionalism: Our ethics training prioritizes the Canadian Psychological Association Code of Ethics’ emphasis on Respect for the Dignity of Persons and Peoples, specifically addressing how to navigate systemic barriers and advocacy within the Canadian healthcare landscape.
To learn about some of our recent EDI initiatives please visit: https://www.psychology.uwo.ca/research/clinical/clinicalediinitiatives.html
