Dr. Lisa Suzuki

Title

Translating Cultural Considerations into Psychological Testing Practice
September 28, 2018 (Friday), 12:00-1:30 CDT

Abstract

The complexities of multicultural assessment have been noted in the literature for decades. Psychologists and other mental health professionals are often called upon to conduct culturally informed assessments. Issues of diversity impact all stages of the assessment process including: review of background records, behavioral observations, clinical interview, determination of the presenting problem, selection of assessment instruments, test administration, interpretation of results, communication of results to clients, and formulation of recommendations and referrals. Consideration of various assessment constructs such as equivalence, cultural loading and test bias will be highlighted. This presentation will address the usage of some of the most popular cognitive, personality and clinical measures. In addition, utilization of translated and culturally adapted measures will be noted. Case vignettes will be used to illustrate various challenges in the assessment process. This presentation will address: 1) aspects of cultural competence as they impact the use of various tests and information gathering procedures; 2) cultural considerations as they impact the stages of assessment; 3) usage of various cognitive and personality measures from a multicultural perspective; and 4) the application of the aforementioned areas to case vignettes.

References
Suzuki, L. A., Lee, E., & Short, E. (2017). Psychological assessment: A brief examination of procedures frequently used tests, and cultural based measures. In M. Casas, L. Suzuki, C. Alexander, & M. Jackson (Eds.) Handbook of Multicultural Counseling Fourth Edition (pp. 259-268). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Suzuki, L. A., & Wilton, L. (2016). Assessment with racial and ethnic minorities and special populations. In J. C. Norcross, G. R. Vance boys, & D. K. Freedheim (Eds.) APA Handbook of Clinical Psychology (pp. 251-266). Washington D. C.: APA Books.

Bio

Lisa A. Suzuki, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Applied Psychology at the New York University Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development. Dr. Suzuki received her doctorate in Counseling Psychology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She has taught in the counseling psychology programs at Fordham University and the University of Oregon. Dr. Suzuki conducts research in the area of multicultural assessment, in particular understanding how culture impacts the process of cognitive assessment. Her work also focuses on the usage of qualitative research strategies with diverse ethnocultural groups. She has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, Psychological Assessment, and the Asian American Journal of Psychology. She is senior co-editor of the Handbook of Multicultural Assessment, now in its third edition, and coeditor of The Handbook of Multicultural Counseling, now in its fourth edition. She is co-author of Intelligent Testing with Minority Students, co-editor of Using Qualitative Methods in Psychology, and Qualitative Strategies with Ethnocultural Populations. Dr. Suzuki is the recipient of the Distinguished Contribution bestowed by the Asian American Psychological Association (2006) and the Visionary Leadership Award from the National Multicultural Conference and Summit (2007). Dr. Suzuki served as an Associate Member of the APA Ethics Committee (2013-2016) and the Vice-President of Diversity and Public Interest for the Society of Counseling Psychology (Division 17) of the APA (2002-2005).