ABSTRACT
The characteristics involved in cultural competency in psychotherapy and counseling have been difficult to specify. This article describes attempts to study factors associated with cultural competency and addresses 3 questions. First, is ethnic match between therapists and clients associated with treatment outcomes? Second, do clients who use ethnic-specific services exhibit more fa vorable outcomes than those who use mainstream ser vices? Third, is cognitive match between therapists and clients a predictor o f outcomes? The research suggests that match is important in psychotherapy. The cultural competency research has also generated some contro versy, and lessons learned from the controversy are dis cussed. Finally, it is suggested that important and orthog onal ingredients in cultural competency are therapists’ scientific mindedness, dynamic-sizing skills, and culturespecific expertise.
