A 1996 Society for Personality Assessment symposium provided 4 culture-specific views of current assessment research and practice. In this article 1 describe some effects on assessment of considering clients as cultural beings as a context for the separate articles. Cultural identities of clients impact on service delivery styles. Modifications of standard tests, use of culture-specific tests, cultural formulations and culture-bound conditions as listed in the 4th-edition Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 1994) as well as the need for relevant personality conceptualizations. An agenda and perspective on contemporary assessment methodology research priorities, and cultural competence issues introduce a forecast of advocacy for practice using evaluations of the cultural self.