Diversity and Cultural Competence in Family Therapy
A therapist will face problems, issues and client troubles everyday. The professional must understand how their client relates to the world around them. These feelings and ideas affect how the client sees the problem and how they respond to their situation. Their actions, in turn, have bearing on individual thoughts, needs, and emotions. The therapist must be aware of the client's history, values, and culture in order to provide effective therapy. This paper will outline and provide information as to the importance of cultural competence and diversity in family therapy.
What is Cultural Competence?
Culture can be defined as behaviors exhibited by certain racial, religious, social or ethnic groups. Some factors in which culture may vary include: family structure, education, and socioeconomic status (Kodjo, 2009). Some may think cultural competence is something that has an end point, however, when the big picture is seen, it is a learning process and journey. From the writer’s perspective, the client-therapist relationship can be challenging. Culturally competent therapists must realize that behaviors are shaped by an individual’s culture. Many changes are taking place within the United States cultural makeup. Therapists and healthcare professionals are being challenged to provide effective and sensitive care for patients and their families. This type of culturally sensitive care requires the professional to be open and seek understanding in the patients diverse belief systems (Kodjo, 2009).
The therapist must be aware of individual values and beliefs in order to develop an understanding of why the client responds to certain life-stressors. For e...
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...ent client populations, and know that one method may or may not work for each individual in the same group. The clinician must be able to adapt to diversity and the ever changing needs and preferences of patients.
References
References
Hastings, C. (2002). So, how do you become culturally competent? Family Therapy Magazine, 1(2), 18-24.
Kodjo, C. (2009, February,2009). Cultural competence in clinician communication [Pediatr Rev]. Pub Med Central, 30(2), 57-64. doi:10.1542/pir.30-2-57
Shiraev, E. B., & Levy, D. A. (2010). Cross-cultural psychology: Critical thinking and contemporary applications (4th ed.). Boston: Pearson/Allyn Bacon.
Wells, S. A. (2007). On cultural competency and ethical practice. Retrieved from http://www.aota.org/Practitioners/Ethics/Advisory/36525.aspx
What is cultural competency? (2012). Retrieved from http://minorityhealth.hhs.gov
Douglas, Rosenkoetter, Pacquiao, Callister, Hattar-Pollara, Lauderdale, Milstead, Nardi, & Purnell (2014) outline ten guidelines for implementing culturally competent care; knowledge of cultures, education and training in culturally competent care, critical reflection, cross-cultural communication, culturally competent practice, cultural competence in health care systems and organizations, patient advocacy and empowerment, multicultural workforce, cross-cultural leadership, and evidence-based practice and research. One specific suggestion I will incorporate is to engage in critical reflection. This is mentioned both by Douglas, et al. (2014) and Trentham, et al. (2007) as an important part of cultural competency. I will do this by looking at my own culture, beliefs, and values and examining how they affect my actions. I will use this information to better inform my day to day practice when working with patients with a different culture than my
Cultural competency is a very significant necessity in health care today and the lack of it in leadership and in the health workforce, is quite pressing. The lack of cultural competency can bring about dire consequences such as racial and ethnic disparities in health care. It may not be the sole reason for these disparities, but it certainly places a significant role. A patient and health care provider relationship is very significant and can make or break the quality of care that is given. The lack of cultural competency leads to poor communication which then leads to those of diverse backgrounds to feel either unheard or just plain misunderstood. As an East African
Goode, T. D., Dunne, M. C., & Bronheim, S. M. (2006). The evidence base for cultural and linguisitc competence in healthcare. The Commonweatlh Fund , 1-46.
Going to a different country or area of the world can open up anybody’s eyes to see that culture makes a huge impact on the understanding and practices of healthcare that seem to be so common to other areas of the world. When a person lives in one country their whole life, that person may not realize how different the life they live is from someone in a foreign country. If a person is going to receive treatment from someone with a different cultural background, they should be expected to get treatment to respects their own culture. Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences having such a diverse variety of students has their own cultural competency definition that states “effectively and comfortably communicate across cultures with patients of differing backgrounds, taking into account aspects of trust in order to adopt mutually acceptable objectives and measures”. In the book Dancing Skeletons: Life and Death in West Africa by Katherine Dettwyler, the issue of culture and healthcare are greatly prevalent. Katherine Dettwyler herself goes to West Africa as an anthropologist and her horizons are broadened when during her research she comes in contact with how much culture has an impact on healthcare and everyday life.
Cultural Competence is important for many reasons. First, it can help develop culturally sensitive practices which can in turn help reduce barriers that affect treatment in health care settings. Second, it can help build understanding, which is critical in competence, in order wards knowing whom the person recognizes as a health care professional and whom they views as traditional healer, can aid the development of trust and improve the individual’s investment and participation in treatment. Third, our population in the United States is not only growing quickly but also changing, cultural competence will allow us as educators and healthcare workers keep up wi...
It is important to include cultural issues in the helping process to be more effective. We also need cultural competence because the U.S. is becoming more diverse. Therefore with diversity comes different beliefs, norms, and values. Eurocentric values dominate sciences and began cultural universals which puts the clash of dominate and non-dominate cultural behaviors in motion. In 1996 the NASW Code of Ethics increased the recognition of cultural competence. It is important to know diversity exist within ethnic and cultural groups because social workers need to know that relationships between helping professionals and clients may be strained. This happens because of the distrust between groups. Another important aspect is that the professional realizes their own values, biases, and beliefs. The reason for this is because they must value diversity to start with and understand the dynamics of difference. Culturally competent practitioners have to go through developmental process of using their own culture as a starting point to meet all behaviors. Striving for cultural competence is a long term process of development. The literature on cultural competence is theoretical and conceptual. They have not been evaluated in a systematic way. Roughly there are 2 million Native americans in the U.S. Which survive decimating disease, over-repressed in child welfare system, suffer from health problems, and are among the poorest people in the United States. Working with them clearly falls within the social work clearly mandate to serve vulnerable and oppressed clients. However, we do not know how many people from this group is actually receiving help from social workers. Even though it is important to train social workers to provide care in th...
In thinking about what culture or special population I would really want to learn and understand about, the Mexican culture kept coming to mind. I believe in my practice I will see a lot of clients who are Mexican and I would truly like to understand their culture and not be ignorant to it. Every culture has their own special ways and I as a counselor would love to learn and understand so one day I can give them the best counseling possible. It is important to me to fully understand their culture because not everyone will respond the same way and in order for there to be a good client/therapist relationship, I need to learn and understand the best I can. In my paper I will take a look at the Mexican culture, how it differs from American culture and ways to help improve my relationship with a Mexican client. I will look at their social structure, family, religion, language, literacy, communication styles, socioeconomic position, traditional health care beliefs and practices, and health care seeking behaviors. The Mexican culture is dynamic and expressed in various ways, owing to individual life experience and personality. Some Mexicans living in the United States may be more or less acculturated to mainstream U.S. culture (Smith, CH 2 online). I will also research some different types of therapy/treatment approaches that would be most effective for the Mexican client and what they are dealing with. With all my research and findings I hope to learn and become better aware of their culture and possibly others, so I can be the best therapist I can be. No therapist wants their stereotypes, biases, and culture bound attitudes toward their client's culture to make it difficult for them to serve them effectively (Wright, 1988).
Cultural Competence Understanding culture is an important aspect of being a social worker; this does not mean learning common cultural traits is of great significance to the social work profession. “Consider the second-generation Japanese-American social worker whose practice consists of Mexican-American and African-American families. Memorizing national traits or cultural rituals would be interesting and informative, but ultimately these would be an inaccurate basis on which to “know” these particular families” (Dorfman, 1996, p. 33). When understanding cultural competence, it is important to learn from the client about their culture in order to serve them in the most helpful and efficient way possible. There is a major drawback to memorizing information, and that is, this information will not give you a real understanding of who your client is and what life experiences they have personally faced.
Remember, self-reflection is vital to becoming a culturally-competent counselor. The counselor should consistently re-examine their worldview and personal beliefs about diverse individuals and other cultures. The idea is for the counselor to explore their own prejudices, emotions, and preconceived notions of those that differ from themselves. Remaining curious and willing to learn about culturally distinct groups is a practical way of working effectively with varied clients in counseling and understanding what barriers and prejudices are typical in their
There are different perspectives, however, which put stress on various aspects of culture and try to identify its boundaries and its substitutes. Some regard culture as separate entity from demographic factors, some point out acculturation as one of the obstacles, which makes culture difficult to identify, some show how an intimate and meaningful relationship between a counsellor and a culturally different client to be established. In this essay I will be discussing what the different concepts of understanding of culture in Counselling are, by examining different authors and perspectives and evaluating their strengths and weaknesses.
Bentancourt et al. (2005) allows asserts that there are three distinctive reasons why cultural competency is so very important for the American healthcare system. American is composed of a very diverse population, which mean healthcare providers will continual be exposed to treating individuals from various backgrounds and from various cultures; their beliefs regarding their health or healthcare may range widely. When patients have a deficiency in the English language, proper healthcare delivery becomes increasingly more difficult as they will present symptoms in the syntax of their culture and their first language. Also, research shows the communication between the patient and their provider directly correlates to their satisfaction as well as their responsiveness or willingness to follow the health provider medical instructions; this ultimately affects the patient’s health outcome (Bentancourt et al., 2005). It’s fair to say that a successful health outcome is also contingent upon the interaction of the health provider and patient. Reports generated by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) – “Crossing the Quality Chasm and Unequal Treatment, confirms that cultural competence that focuses on the care of patient through
As a matter of fact developing an awareness of these clients cultural values are very beneficial in the success of their outcome of therapy. According to (Vasquez, 2007), our “cultural factors shape perceptions of illness” when dealing with loved ones. Learning how the family supports these clients has provided extremely beneficial for everyone in the therapeutic development. Since most of the
The therapist must be culturally aware and sensitive. They can advocate for a culturally competent environment which meets the needs of their diverse group of clients. If a therapist doesn’t communicate properly the assessments and interventions can be impacted due to being culturally incompetent. This could impact research practices as well, understanding that people have different cultures and that their communication methods may be different can be a huge factor in a successful assessment, intervention or research practice. Culture can prevent clients from seeing things the way a therapist would want them to see. Regarding mental health it is important to be culturally aware because what is the norm in one culture may not be the norm in another. Culturally appropriate assessments are still a controversy today but there are cross-cultural assessment allow the therapist to get to know their client better
Cultural competence can be defined as using the ability of one’s awareness, attitude, knowledge and skill to effectively interact with a patient’s many cultural differences. Madeline Leininger, a pioneer on transcultural nursing describes it this way; “a formal area of study and practice focused on comparative human-care differences and similarities of the beliefs, values and patterned lifeways of cultures to provide culturally congruent, meaningful, and beneficial health care to people” (Barker, 2009, p. 498). The importance of cultural diversity in healthcare allows for the delivery of appropriate cultural autonomy. Showing respect for others will lead to trust between nurse and patient which in turn improves healing and health.
Keehan, C. (2013). Culturally competent care. Journal of Healthcare Management, 58 (4), 250-250. Retrieved from: http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.undmedlibrary.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=9c4f4ff2-db1b-4529-87f8-ad1ded21d312%40sessionmgr111&vid=6&hid=118