ABSTRACT
I started teaching about cultural diversity early in my career, without knowing that was what I was doing. One of the first classes I taught as a new professor was a clinical interviewing course for substance abuse counselors that were specifically working with the underserved in the most impoverished section of Oahu, Hawai’i. As I incorporated these concepts into practice, many interesting discussions emerged of whether or not the same skills would work with culturally diverse populations. For example, the conventional ways that graduate programs encouraged use of eye contact to convey interest may not have the same effect with those who consider direct eye contact to be inappropriate or rude (such as Native Hawaiians).
