TPC Journal Volume 11 Issue 2

The Professional Counselor | Volume 11, Issue 2 243 program faculty. Thus, we suggest collecting qualitative data to learn about the individual lived experiences of CITs following their course. Further research on implementing the RAMF into CE programs is also needed to validate its evidence base. Regarding the evaluation of multicultural competence utilizing the RAMF, we recommend that CITs take Holcomb-McCoy and Myers’ (1999) Multicultural Counseling Competence and Training Survey-Revised (MCCTS-R), which will provide insight into CITs’ perceived level of multicultural competence. This 32-item measure is grounded in the MSJCC (Barden et al., 2017) and assesses competency in three domains—multicultural knowledge, multicultural awareness, and multicultural terminology—using self-report, Likert-type questions ranging from 1 ( not competent ) to 4 ( extremely competent ; Holcomb-McCoy & Myers, 1999). To evaluate the effectiveness of the RAMF and facilitate formative feedback, we recommend administering the MCCTS-R to all CITs at the beginning and end of a course. The successful implementation of the RAMF is evidenced by CITs’ growth in the following MSJCC domains: attitudes and beliefs, knowledge, skills, and action (Ratts et al., 2016). These domains must be routinely evaluated as part of an ongoing CE program evaluation to enhance multicultural and social justice competency among CITs (Hays, 2020). Conclusion CE programs may use the RAMF to address challenges to CITs’ self-efficacy and ability in treating culturally diverse clients, thereby potentially reducing gatekeeping concerns that stem from lack of multicultural competence. Overall, implementation of the RAMF could pose several benefits to CE programs. A limitation of this framework includes possible compassion fatigue because of its emphasis on authentic interactions and contact with difficult conversations (e.g., power and oppression, unique challenges faced by marginalized group members). However, the RAMF’s integrative approach to addressing multicultural and social justice competence throughout the curriculum may allow for CITs to develop knowledge and skills proactively rather than retroactively engaging in future remediation strategies. Conflict of Interest and Funding Disclosure The authors reported no conflict of interest or funding contributions for the development of this manuscript. References Adler, A. (1946). Understanding human nature. Permabooks. American Counseling Association. (2014). ACA code of ethics . Baker, C. A., Gaulke, K., & Smith, K. (2015). Counselor education cultural climate: Underrepresented master’s students’ experiences. Journal for Multicultural Education , 9 (2), 85–97. https://doi.org/10.1108/JME-07-2014-0032 Barden, S. M., & Greene, J. H. (2015). An investigation of multicultural counseling competence and multicultural counseling self-efficacy for counselors-in-training. International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling , 37 (1), 41–53. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10447-01 4-9 22 4-1 Barden, S. M., Sherrell, R. S., & Matthews, J. J. (2017). A national survey on multicultural competence for professional counselors: A replication study. Journal of Counseling & Development , 95 (2), 203–212. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcad.12132