The rapid increase around the world in interactions among persons of diverse cultural and social backgrounds along with (1) major shifts in how family is defined and (2) increasing fragmentation and disconnection among families will place extraordinary demands on family practitioners in the 21st century. To help clients cope with the problems that beset them, practitioners must be trained to be flexible, open thinkers who are comfortable with diversity and knowledgeable about multilevel approaches to family empowerment. Empowering diverse clients will require practitioners to be culturally competent and able to apply knowledge of power dynamics in human functioning to their understanding of their clients, the intervention process, and themselves.
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