What Is The Difference Between Cultural Competency And Critical Consciousness?

the case study presented addressed the ethical implication of “understanding the complex role cultural diversity and similarity plays in therapeutic work” (Corey et al, 2015, p. 106). Culture diversity is broad concept that encompass multicultural awareness and understanding, value imposing, discrimination, cultural sensitivity, respect of diversity, and the history of social prejudice, dominant and oppressed group. The ACA code of ethics highlights the concept of multiculturalism and diversity in various section.

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.

As a result, it is imperative to take a look at current and historical oppressions that a client experience by being part of a minority social group or a group that does not conform to popular culture (Aviera, 2002). These oppressions will offer me a deeper insight into the source of challenges that a client faces. By merely looking at the individual without considering these oppressions, I could fail to determine what drives him to experience life the way that he does. Therefore, in order to build a practice that is useful to a different set of cultures, keeping in mind significant experiences encountered as a collective is fundamental in cultivating effective cross-cultural counseling

How can we ensure that therapeutic practice does not escape the scrutiny with which we investigate other social institutions? Intersectionality theory offers an opportunity to respond to these questions in way that allows for a reframing of the approach to cultural competency in way which provides an avenue to more libratory practice.

Over time, society has become increasingly diverse and globally connected. In order to meet the needs of an interconnected society, the American Counseling Association (ACA) endorsed the creation of multicultural and social justice competencies (Ratts, Singh, Butler, Nassar-McMillan, & McCullough, 2016). The Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies (MSJCC) were developed in order to showcase the importance of integrating MSJCC into all aspects of the counseling profession. Originally, these competencies were geared more toward majority professionals working with minority clients. However, it has become more clear that the range of diversity is endless and it is not uncommon for privileged clients to be counseled by minority counseled (Ratts, et al., 2016).

Ahmed (2011) cautions that the “critical” in CWS means one must be vigilantly aware that when trying to unlearn privilege in a culture shaped by privilege, of one’s own positionality and power, in a field meant to disrupt both. Critical thinking means “to think with complexity, to go below the surface and explore multiple dimensions and nuances” (Sensoy & DiAngelo, 2014, p.1) and in CWS, the critical thinking includes a deeply self-reflexive examination, understanding and vigilance of one’s own whiteness and privilege as Ahmed advises.

This caused me to think about various aspects of cultural diversity that are fundamental while dealing with clients. The information I gathered was key to my path to becoming a culturally competent occupational therapist in various ways. First, the idea of viewing patients from culturally and linguistically diverse community from various perspectives is new to me, and I intend to incorporate it into strategies with my potential clients by taking each individual as unique and distinct from the other hence serving them better. Secondly, the information on cultural competency being a dynamic and complex process requiring continuous expansion of personal, cultural know-how and self-evaluation was new. I intended to incorporate this while dealing with potential clients by continuous interaction with people from distinct cultures to be acquainted with knowledge on how best to serve the needs of each person

In this great nation we live in today that has been vastly increasing diversity bring so many great opportunities. But with these great opportunities there are also challenges that are continually looked over constantly. One of the challenges is our health care system that fails to deliver culturally competent services. Cultural competency helps to enable providers to deliver services that are respectful to diverse patients. This helps with patients own health beliefs, practices and cultural and linguistic needs. This is why this training is needed in every health facility. Many doctors go through this problem not understanding their patient’s needs. If I were a doctor I would use this skill. Certain racial and ethnic minorities receive poorer

Cultural competence in health care systems and organizations 7. Patient advocacy and empowerment 8. Multicultural workforce 9. Cross- cultural leadership 10.

The best way to combat prior-held stereotypes that providers have about minorities in the clinical setting is to completely integrate it into their medical education. Cultural competency curricula in medical schools should not be an additional class or lesson added on top of their normal classes. It should be integrated into every lesson and every discussion about disease and medical care. They should be taught to consider how their actions in every step of the clinical encounter can contribute to health disparities, and how to work against

To help foster growth and development, institutions are focusing on how to implement programs and services that encourage students to explore their own individuality. Student development advocates “are drawn to critical theories because they focus attention on underrepresented populations of students” (p. 1). Critical theory is an umbrella term for multiple disciplines including humanities, sociology, legal studies, and education. By accentuating individual circumstances, critical theories can be applied for a more intricate understanding of the student as whole, including factors like individual and social aspects that can affect development. By embracing a multitude of strategies, student affairs professionals focus on developing racial awareness by promoting and encouraging interaction between all races in anticipation of racial understanding (Ireland & Jones,

The journal article examines the teaching of multiculturalism as a discipline in the counseling field. No other field of study is more affected by multiculturalism then the field of counseling. “In the study research appears to confirm the importance of attending to cultural concerns in the therapeutic process as well as the efficacy of multicultural training approaches in the establishment of multicultural counseling competence”. (Fetzer, 2016) Further research also shows that racial group membership and racial identity of the student impacted engagement in multicultural counseling.

In order to be a culturally competent practitioner, educators and families could start with critical reflection on attitudes and values and or the ways in which children respond to diversity within their community.

Recognizing that ethnic identity is only one facet of diversity. My clinical practices involve serving many individuals who have diverse personal and cultural identities. During case conceptualization I routinely ask clients to describe their own values and perspectives to add to my understanding while increasing their comfort. As I serve an increasingly diverse population, keen observation and feedback from clients will continue to illuminate pathways to expanding my awareness and understanding. I see no end to my professional journey to provide culturally responsive

I. We have read about the connections between critical multicultural education and culturally relevant pedagogy. Discuss how these concepts are aligned and provide two examples from the class texts of how culturally relevant pedagogy is an approach used to provide equitable educational experiences for all students.