Synthesis Paper : Developing Cultural Self Awareness

To provide competent care to a client, the therapist has to be culturally prepared to work with the client. To be culturally competent as a therapist I have to be aware of my own bias, my identity, and my values in regards of my culture. I also need to be aware of the judgments that I have about the client’s cultural identity. In order to know the client’s culture, I would inquire about the identity during the intake. I would use the Addressing model by Pamela Hays to inquire the cultural identity of my clients. The addressing model helps to consider the various social categories that a client belongs to. Also, providing culturally competent services is to be aware of the population surrounding the therapist’s office or agency in order to

In my personal opinion and experience, I find that the field of psychology is lacking in diverse cultural competencies as much as the society is diverse in its population. I believe that as with using any theoretical model, the therapists’ cultural knowledge needs to include understanding of the many cultural considerations influencing the effectiveness of treatment when dealing with clients from diverse backgrounds. When servicing the individuals in the family, care and attention needs to be directed towards family and community norms and values around help seeking, secrecy and confidentiality, family roles, child rearing and spiritual practices.

When speaking with my client he made mention of the fact that in all his years of practicing this past decade has been where the highest emphasis on cultural sensitivity has been made. He noted that as a white middle age male, he had had to learn new things about himself to be able to overcome preconceived notions and biases that he may have held without knowing. Cultuaral sensitivity is very important in trating cllients. Since behavior is culturally relative, when a counselor is competent, he or she would understand the context of the clients thought or behaviors within their given culture. It also promotes a better relationship between the counselor and the client as the client begins to truly trust that the counselor sees him/her as a unique individual and not just another stereotype. Another professional issue that comes up in the counseling setting is the core witness status. In the interview with David, he remarks that he has rarely been subpoenaed to testify in court even though he deals with a love of adolescents from the juvenile system. He however did mention that the times he had been subpoenaed were for civil and not criminal

The Racial/Cultural Identity Development Model was constructed to help counselors to better understand what frame of mind a client was in when they came into therapy. The development of cultural and ethnic identity occurs in a stage-wise manner throughout a person’s lifetime. According to the Racial/Cultural Identity Development Model (R/CID), this process occurs in five phases and reflect an individual’s understanding of his or her relationship with the dominant culture. These phases can guide the counselor to a better understanding of their client, although not everyone will fit into one of these phases. Some can be in several of the phases and some may not be in any of the phases. All five phases are guidelines to help a counselor if a client is dealing with racism or oppression. Ideally, once a person has reached the final stage, he or she is able to appreciate and respect his or her native culture and the dominant culture (Sue & Sue, 2016). These phases include: conformity, dissonance, resistance and immersion, introspection, and integrative awareness. Phase one, the conformity stage, is where the client is guided by the dominant group and follow their behaviors and actions. The client is easily persuaded to follow the majority, going against their own race. This type of attitude helps the client feel more accepted by the majority because he or she believes that validation comes from a White perspective. The client accepts belief in White

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).

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

The United States is a giant melting pot with many different cultures and races and people coming from all walks of life. As a counselor, it is important to be able to be competent in a variety of cultures to be effective. Being cultural competent means having the awareness, knowledge and skills needed to function effectively with culturally diverse populations (Sue & Sue, 2016). This project required immersing in a culture that is different from your own. I was allowed the opportunity to experience being the “only one” in a culture that is different from what I am used to.

The article helped me to understand that multicultural counseling plays a major part in the understanding of the client. Understanding my own biases regarding multiculturalism based upon my own racial group and identity will fundamentally impact my counseling approach. My Way of Being with the client in the counseling session will be directly affect by my ability to understand his or her cultural differences.

Understanding of the different cultural and racial population is important for counselors to recognize and consider in counseling. Due to the various approaches that should be taken when dealing with different cultures. Our textbook states “Counseling without attention or respect to the critical differences of diversity will likely not be successful.” (Clinton & Ohlschlager pg. 617) It is like you must put their shoes on, within the context of culture for the counselor to be effective. For example, when dealing with Asian clients they are very likely to have intense familial relationships. This contrasts with modern day United States American culture; our culture is centered on the self, not the us.

Culturally competent care can best be understood by considering the recommendations of McGoldrick who said that culture and subculture has a history and background of experience that affects the product of that culture far more than it may realize. Family therapy generally focuses on the patterns and thought behavior of the different members within that family construct, but McGoldrick took a step backwards and said that ethnicity defined family behavior and that, to understand individual and family, one first had to understand and dialogue with that specific culture (McGoldrick, M., Pearce, J. and Giordano, 1982).

It is important to be aware of one’s limitations, weaknesses and strengths in the delivery of counseling services. Taking into account the cultural values of the client, the support systems and the client’s view of the key parts of his or her makeup (the history of the client) are culture specific (because someone is of the same race does not mean that values will be the same) and does not discount the individual. Sue et al reminds us that multicultural counseling competency looks beyond racial and ethnic minorities and also includes disabilities, sexual orientation, age, and other special populations (Sue, et al, 1992).

As society continues to evolve and adopt new norms, a counselor must also seek to broaden their horizons. Cultural diversity continually grows, and as a counselor, it is my job to remain culturally competent, through keeping abreast of empirical research methods and educating myself on current sociocultural developments. Admittedly, I enjoy working with diverse populations; I easily transcend cultural, spiritual and socioeconomic differences. I have many friends from various faiths, ethnicities, and cultural backgrounds. There is a definite need for empathy and empowerment since many clients struggle to cope with issues of their cultural identity.

It addresses that counselors have different skill levels. A counselor may be proficient when working with obese clients but not when working with deaf clients. The LEARN Model (Listen, Explain, Acknowledge, Recommend, and Negotiate) helps health care workers learn how to elicit cultural, social, and personal information from clients that is relevant to working with them. The Ethic Model (Explanation, Treatment, Healers, Negotiate, Intervention, and Collaboration) incorporates the client’s values and beliefs into a culturally sensitive intervention. The Campinha-Bacote Cultural Competency Model for Healthcare Professions is designed to provide the healthcare worker with continuous ability to effectively work with clients, families, and communities are various cultures. There are five constructs of the model, cultural:

In a multicultural counseling perspective there are four key approaches when counseling individuals, (a) multicultural awareness of culturally learned assumptions about self and others leading to accurate assessments of clients, (b) multicultural knowledge of information, (c) multicultural skills and interventions, that are appropriate treating clients, and (d) individuals are from a variety of backgrounds, demographic status, and affiliation of cultures. The three-stage approach, will direct the counselor towards levels of multicultural competence in therapy by providing a successful outcome in the recovery process. When conducting a psychotherapy session with a client the counselor should be able to demonstrate skills, when exploring the client’s cultural background. Counselors should also be able to focus on the essential skills and pattern behaviors, when identifying cultural differences. Counseling a minority from a different culture counselors’ must be able to identify their own personal behaviors. These behaviors are crucial when counseling these individuals. First, a counselor must be able to sense the clients’ viewpoint or issue in some way. Secondly, a counselor should be specific when asking a question rather than being unclear and confusing.

Just as the American School Counselor Association’s code of ethics discusses multicultural counseling and American Counseling Association’s code of ethics discusses cultural sensitivity in that counselors needs to be aware of a clients culture and be able to explains and communicate information in a way that is understandable to them. Counselors needs to have an understanding of their personal values and not impose them on their clients, counselors need to respect their client’s culture and diversity. Counselors need to advocate for their clients and others at individual, group, institution, and community levels. Counselors need to understand their clients view on disclosure and have conversations with them regarding confidentiality and disclosing