Eboni Ethics

Each client is influenced by race, ethnicity, national origin, life stage, educational level, social class, and sex roles (Ibrahim, 1985). The counsellor must view the identity and development of culturally diverse people in terms of multiple interactive factors rather than a strictly cultural framework (Romero, 1985).

In order to provide culturally appropriate care, an examination of one's personal views, beliefs, and prejudices must be examined. The first portion of this paper will examine my personal values, beliefs, biases, and prejudices. The remaining paper will analyze the African American culture relating to the Ginger and Davidhizar's Transcultural Assessment Model cited in Hood (2010). This model uses six key cultural elements that include communication, space, social organization, time, environment, and biological variations. This model provides a systematic approach for assessing culturally diverse clients. I will also discuss an aspect of care that I would

2) When you think about working professionally with members of this group, are there traits, characteristics, or other issues about the group that you would be curious about, concerned about, or intimidated by? Why would understanding diversity issues be important to you as a human services worker? I would think that Native Americans would be harder to work with because they may not agree with everything the worker is trying to do. They may feel weak to ask for help. They have many beliefs that may come in the way of receiving help, such as using certain medicines or getting government help. It would be important to understand this group so that the service worker does not offend the client and can help them using their knowledge of their culture.

I have learned that it is important that educators  and health providers be trained on cultural competency to understand the population they are serving. Marks, Sims, and Osher (King, Sims, & Osher, n.d.) define cultural competency  as a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system, agency, or among professionals and enables that system, agency, or those professionals to work effectively in cross–cultural situations" ( as cited in Cross et al., 1989; Isaacs & Benjamin, 1991). Health providers and educators should investigate demographic patterns or trends in the place where they live and work. This brings awareness of the types of cultures that they might come across when they are working with people. Organizations should integrate and implement policies that promote the value of  diversity, self-assessment, manage the dynamics of difference, acquire and institutionalize cultural knowledge, and adapt to diversity and the cultural contexts of communities they serve (Georgetown  University, 2004). Georgetown University (2004) also stresses that culture competency grows gradually and is always open for improvement.

Department of Health and Human Service (2003), stating that cultural competency is “the ability to provide services to clients that honor different cultural beliefs, interpersonal styles, attitudes and behaviors and the use of multi-cultural staff in the policy development, administration and provision of those services.” According to the National Associations of Social Workers’ (2008) code of ethics, competency is important for understanding clients and their needs. Cultural competence differs from cultural humility in that it solely provides educational information regarding diverse populations in attempts to provide quality services. Culturally humility is a philosophy that includes components of cultural competence, but also involves analyzing ones self-awareness and biases. It includes life long learning surrounding issues of cultural diversity. Cultural humility is what is strived for but for the purpose of this analysis it will focus on cultural competence as a means of educating individuals on LGBT issues in later

Cultural competence as it pertains to counseling is a vital skill to possess in today’s ever-changing society. Counseling is a high demand profession which involves interaction with person from all walks of life and all types of backgrounds. As we become more sensitive to cultural diversity around us, we must make an effort to understand those who are different from us. The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender or LGBT community has come to the forefront of our social consciousness with much media attention given to the issue of marriage equality in many states.

One of the main concerns that should have been managed or handled differently would be the cultural competency of the agency and the workers that were involved in this family’s case. The Krasniqi immediate family included: Sam the father who is from Kosovo, Kathy the mother who is also from Kosovo, Tim Kathy and Sam’s son who was born in the United States, and Lima Kathy and Sam’s daughter who was born in the United States. The region in Kosovo that Kathy and Sam are from is culturally different than the United States. In Kosovo they cling to a values system with archaic roots. By this I mean they still practice arranged marriages, several generations cohabitate, the concepts of honor and shame are integral to this subculture, and men’s and women’s lives are lived in separate social settings. The event

I agree with the policy statement in the NASW Social Work Speaks. The 3 basic elements of competence they mention are very important for social workers to have. We should have cultural awareness, cultural-specific knowledge, and skills. “Culture is the integrated pattern of human behavior that includes thoughts, behaviors, communications, actions, customs, beliefs, values, and institutions of a racial, ethnic, religious, or social group. Social groups may include lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender people, people with a disability, older adults, military families, and immigrants and refugees.” Social workers should be very cultural competent because of the demographic in America there are many different culture and background.

For many care recipients the gender of the care workers is important, particularly for sensitive situations. Determine and document if the care recipient has any preferences, concerns or expectations regarding care provided by someone of a different gender.

There are three core goals leading a counselor to become culturally competent, which include awareness of personal biases, understanding and acknowledging the worldviews of individuals from all cultures, and developing appropriate techniques and interventions by using specific skills and strategies. Becoming aware of ones own biases is essential for changing ones perspective. Being aware of Ones of biases allows the individual to rewire their thinking patterns and unattached previous assumptions. A cultural competent counselor will actively understand the worldviews of all individuals from different cultures. Research is a key fundamental when educating ones self about culture. A culturally competent counselor will accept clients for who they are and perceive them without judgment. Cultural competent counselors will create innovative techniques and interventions depending upon the client’s culture. Counselors must function with clients as a team to optimize growth and development of the client. Together, the counselor and the client can find new strategies and interventions that work effectively. Becoming culturally competent is an important goal for counselors and throughout the profession counselors will strive to achieve

Some of the author’s major points are the lack of understanding of what cultural competence really means which is bringing confusion about ways it can be utilized in the social work field. The confusion of the utilization of cultural competence is leading to the lack of consensus concerning the effective training that providers should obtain and the population being served with the cultural competence skills lack clear description. According to the author, the most popular cultural competence intervention in the healthcare system is the cultural competency training which is for health care providers and the two approaches that have been utilized in creating the intervention are; the programs aimed at improving knowledge which is group specific,

Part of this is culturally appropriate introductions, I will explain where I am from and why I am there, there needs to be a genuine sharing of both my professional and personal identity (Bennett et al., 2013). Bennett, Zubzycki and Bacon (2011) “you don’t build relationships with people just because it’s the nice thing to do, it’s actually the only way to work” (p. 27). Previously, service providers have been ethnocentric in their practice and have lacked clear cultural knowledge this has resulted in social workers being met with “wariness, distrust and cynicism” when entering Indigenous communities (Bennett et al., 2013, p. 2). I will explain my understanding of the historical and contemporary mistreatment and how I do not want that to continue. I will explain that I want to work in a culturally acceptable manner and I am happy for them to let me know if that is not

It is important to understand “cultural accessibility” which includes “understanding, appreciation, and affirmation of values and beliefs that are held by the communit (Delgado, 1999, p. 34). Nonverbal communication is also an aspect of cultural associability due to the communication to the client in a way they understand (Delgado, 1999,). This is an important aspect because it allows the social worker to be available to learn from the client in order to build competence at the time of face-to-face contact. Each client is an individual and is more than just the cultural norm’s they can be stereotyped by.

It is imperative that social workers become knowledgeable about their clients’ cultures and are culturally sensitive. In learning about their clients’ cultures, social workers need to be aware of how powerful and significant culture is in relating to clients’ behavior, values, and beliefs. Becoming culturally competent requires the ability to integrate awareness, knowledge, and skills while maintaining a positive working relationship with the client (Sue and Zane, 1987). Today, the concerns regarding cultural competency continue to accentuate the importance of preparing social workers for a diversified society.

Defined as the ability of providers and organizations to effectively deliver health care services that meet the social, cultural and linguistic needs (Georgetown University, 2004) Cultural competence is an ideal that spans across not only healthcare, but also law enforcement. Utilizing the same mindset as the healthcare industry, law enforcement has the dubious task of deciphering how to provide a service meant for all and ensure that the needs of all citizens and businesses are met. According to Terry Cross (1988), culturally competent agencies are characterized by acceptance and respect for difference, continuing self-assessment regarding culture, careful attention to the dynamics of difference, continuous expansion of cultural knowledge and resources, and a variety of adaptations to service models in order to better meet the needs of minority populations. The culturally competent agency works to hire unbiased employees, seeks advice and consultation from the minority community and actively decides what it is and is not capable of providing to minority clients.