Diversity
Commitment to Anti-Racism
The Master of Arts in Applied Child & Adolescent Psychology: Prevention and Treatment program is committed to practicing anti-racism by fostering diversity and inclusion while promoting equity in all its activities, policies and practices.
Current and historical acts of oppression and prejudice disproportionately devalue people of diverse identities including race, culture, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, gender identification, ability and socioeconomic status, among others. We are committed to recruiting and retaining staff and students from marginalized and historically excluded groups. We are also dedicated to training all students to do effective clinical work with diverse children, adolescents and families.
We understand that anti-racism must involve institutional level change and we are committed to identifying and challenging bias and racism in every decision we make to achieve more equitable outcomes for our students. The program’s leadership; Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access (IDEA) Committee; and faculty are continually working to create a learning environment that centers diverse ideas, perspectives and lived experiences, and honors all identities.
Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access (IDEA) Committee
The diversity of our students, faculty and staff enhances the excellence of our program. Our shared goals regarding diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) aim to improve the quality of our program, the training of our students, the services our students and graduates provide to their clients, and the mental health of our broader community.
Our program’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access (IDEA) Committee uses a variety of strategies to build and promote an anti-racist, equitable and inclusive culture. It conducts ongoing reviews of courses to increase DEI content and ensure minoritized and historically excluded voices are represented; addresses programmatic and structural issues related to DEI; supports faculty trainings on creating classes that are inclusive and address equity issues; manages bias reporting; and supports Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) students as well as students from other marginalized and oppressed groups.
The 2023–2024 IDEA Committee includes Liliana Lengua (faculty leadership), Marisa Keller (faculty), Anthony Osuna (faculty), Dannielle Whiley (faculty), Erjing Cui (faculty), Nikita Nerkar (student) and Ray Almeyda (student).
Bias Reporting Procedures
A bias incident is any discrimination or harassment against a member of the university community based on perception of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, citizenship, sex, pregnancy, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, disability or veteran status. Something does not necessarily need to rise to the level of a hate crime (malicious harassment as defined in RCW 9A.36.080) to constitute a bias incident. Reports of a bias incident can be made about program leadership, faculty and/or students.
Reporting bias is a courageous act, and it involves the reliving of difficult experiences. The PSYCAP program appreciates the brave actions of individuals who bring these incidents to light. The program commits to supporting and listening to individuals who report bias incidents (from here on, referred to simply as "reporters") to understand and remedy bias incidents to create an environment where we better live up to our ideals of inclusion, fairness, justice and accountability. We will make every effort to provide support to all those reporting bias incidents. Retaliation is unacceptable and unlawful and reporters will be protected to avoid retaliation.
Resolutions will vary as a function of incidents and history of reports. When a report is made, the reporter and receiver of the report will discuss possible resolutions that can include:
- Individual and group-based training on diversity and cultural literacy and humility
- Behavior change plans
- Formal apologies
- Restorative justice approaches
- Informal mediation
- Community healing events
- Potential referrals of the incident to appropriate institutional committees, such as UCIRO (see description below), Title IX Office (see description below), Community Standards and Student Conduct and faculty adjudication proceedings (see Chapter 28 of the faculty code).
When indicated or possible, the program director will communicate with program students and faculty about steps taken to address a concern, and these reports will anonymize and minimize the identifiability of individuals involved. There may be times such a report cannot be provided without violating the confidentiality of individuals involved. However, every effort will be made to communicate efforts undertaken to respond to reported concerns.
Bias incidents can be reported in many ways, and these various approaches are described below. More than one reporting strategy can be used, and the choice depends upon your goals. Individuals may bring biased incidents that they personally experienced, witnessed involving others or were reported to them by others.
For a complete set of instructions, please check out Bias Incident Reporting Procedures.
How to Report Bias Incidents
| Method | Description |
|---|---|
| Reporting to a Trusted Faculty Member in the UW Master’s Program or DEI Committee Member | A student can approach a trusted faculty member or DEI committee member to communicate concerns or initiate a bias incident report. A student can also ask another student to bring the report to a trusted faculty member or DEI committee member. The student can convey to the faculty/DEI member their preference for: 1) Maintaining anonymity, 2) Whether they want their communication escalated, 3) If escalated, who escalates (student or faculty member), to whom (comment box, faculty leadership, DEI committee) and what information to include and 4) Preferred method for feedback and updating on response. The faculty/DEI member should also facilitate support for the student at this time. |
| UW Psychology Department Diversity Advocacy Team | A member of Psychology's Diversity Advocacy Team will collaborate with the student, or work on their behalf, to communicate the biased incident to program faculty leadership or the DEI committee. An individual might choose this option for reporting if they feel safer or better supported by an independent source of support. Reporters can direct reports to a specific member of the team with whom they might feel most comfortable. |
| A Faculty Member or Clinical Supervisor Outside of the Master’s Program | Individuals are welcome to choose a trusted faculty member or clinical practicum supervisor outside of the UW master's program to speak with about bias incidents and request that they discuss the incident with a member of the DEI committee. |
UW Climate Resources | UW Bias Incident Advisory Committee The website states: "For the purposes of the Bias Incident Advisory Committee, a bias incident is any discrimination or harassment against a member of the university community based on perception of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, citizenship, sex, pregnancy, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, disability or veteran status. Something does not necessarily need to rise to the level of a hate crime (malicious harassment as defined in RCW 9A.36.080) to constitute a bias incident." Bias Incidents can be reported to the committee with the Bias Reporting Tool. According to the website: "Our mission is to provide high-quality, client-focused services for preventing, managing and resolving conflict at this university. Through active participation in the problem-solving process, clients develop the ability to prevent, manage and resolve future conflict. We serve the entire University of Washington community by providing a collaborative and confidential environment to discuss your situation, consider options and develop a plan for the future." |
| UW Compliance Structures (these are UW offices independent of our program that determine whether legal civil rights were violated) | Civil Rights Investigation Office The Civil Rights Investigation Office investigates complaints made about University employees and students that raise concerns relating to civil rights such as protection from discrimination, harassment, retaliation and sexual misconduct. For complaints that a University student has violated the sexual misconduct provisions of the Student Conduct Code. Title IX, Washington State law and University of Washington policy prohibit discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender expression, pregnant or parenting status and LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) identity. |
Student Representation
We recognize that a diverse student body benefits everyone: students, instructors and the program as a whole. According to a 2015 report by the American Psychological Association, only 15% of the psychology workforce is BIPOC, compared to 38% of the U.S. population. According to Pew Research projections, the United States will be majority BIPOC by 2050.
Nationally, a 2021 APA survey reports that students in a sample of master’s programs across the U.S. were 37% BIPOC and 52% white on average. Through critical examination of our recruitment and admissions processes, the University of Washington Master of Arts in Applied Child & Adolescent Psychology: Prevention & Treatment program is committed to attracting, retaining and graduating increasing numbers of students from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds as well as historically underrepresented populations.
Citations:
https://www.apa.org/monitor/2018/02/datapoint
https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2008/02/11/us-population-projections-2005-2050
The Land We're On
The University of Washington acknowledges the Coast Salish peoples of this land, the land which touches the shared waters of all tribes and bands within the Duwamish, Puyallup, Suquamish, Tulalip and Muckleshoot nations.
The Master of Arts in Applied Child & Adolescent Psychology: Prevention & Treatment program acknowledges that we are uninvited visitors to their homeland, also the homeland of the Duwamish People, who continue to pursue their federal recognition.
We invite you to reflect on the lands on which we reside and acknowledge all of the ancestral homelands and traditional territories of Indigenous peoples who have been here since time immemorial. Acknowledging the ceded and unceded land on which we all stand could not be more important in our current historical moment. We encourage you to consult Native Land to learn more.