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Strengths and weaknesses of cultural competency
Core concepts in cultural competence
Core concepts in cultural competence
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Discussion Questions
Be culturally competent means to me to consider culture and diversity as part of the counseling process by taking in consideration the client’s perspective, context, circumstances, background, and cultural values.
I remember when I first came to The United States, I experienced cultural shock, I felt overwhelmed by the differences, and for a while is what I saw only the differences. I felt out of place, alienated from the dominant culture. My anxiety and depression was worsening by this situation. I decided to go to and Spanish speaking psychiatrist who explained to me the slow process of assimilation. He also shared with me that most of his Spaniards’ patients had similar concerns, worries, and complains. I felt better about my situation and he shared with me similar feelings that he had as an immigrant from Mexico City himself had
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An example of cultural competence will be if my counselor tells me, I am aware that Spaniards are more collectivists than United State, which is true, and have been documented by social psychologists. Culturally humility will be, if the counselor asked me to define and explain the differences of social interaction in Spain and United States that make me feel so isolated. Cultural humility adds a lifelong commitment to self-evaluation and self-awareness, including biases, preconceived ideas and values. Cultural sensitivity starts with the understanding that there are differences among cultures. Furthermore, cultural sensitivity includes embracing diversity. An example of cultural sensitivity will be if I take my shoes off when entering a Muslim family house, without judging or criticizing. Cultural sensitivity is the awareness, respect and sensitivity of other practices and
Culture is “the total lifeways of a human group. It consists of learned patterns of values, beliefs, customs, and behaviors that are shared by a group of interacting individuals” (Stumbo & Peterson, 2009, p. 257). In order for a person to be culturally competence, he or she must be able to overlook stereotypes of different cultures and be able to appreciate the cultural differences. Dana suggested some culturally competent assessment, which must be considered when serving multicultural clients: cultural orientation, styles of service delivery, assessment methodology, assessment measures, and feedback of assessment findings (Stumbo & Peterson, 2009, p.
With the potential language barrier, a counselor could also ask an interpreter to mediate with the client during sessions to make sure there is an understanding between the client and the counselor. Multicultural knowledge includes counselors’ understanding of their own worldview, knowledge of cultural groups with whom the counselor works, and recognition of sociopolitical factors that impact diverse clients’ lives. Beliefs and attitudes encompass counselors’ values associated with different cultural groups, their ability to recognize and hold in check stereotypes of different cultural groups, a celebration of diversity, and an awareness of how their biases and negative attitudes can adversely influence counseling relationships (Ivers, 2012). One of the hardest parts about being a counselor is admitting your own biases and stereotyping before counseling others of different cultural ethnicities. Once a counselor understands their own biases and stereotyping towards others, they are better able to catch themselves from letting their biases affect their counseling.
The absence of cultural competency in some health care providers, lack of community perspective integration in health care facilities, and low quality health care received by women in developing countries.These are the three most pressing health care concerns that need to be addressed in our ever changing world. The first of the issues I’ll be discussing is the lack of cultural competency amongst health care providers, as well as the shortage of education and training in cultural competency. As we all know and see the United States is a racially and ethnically diverse nation which means our health care providers need to be equipped with the necessary education and training to be able to provide for diverse populations. As an East African
I choose Chapter 4 Cultural Competence for the class discussion, and I addressed the following two points from the chapter. The first one was about Your Ethical Responsibility while working in the Human Service profession and the second was about Important Points to be Remember in Cross -Culture Interactions.
Introduction Cultural Competency is fundamentally linked to the principles of social justice and human rights because it provides the nurses with the opportunity to develop interpersonal skills to provide equal care despite one’s cultural background. However, using the principles of social justice and human rights to educate nurses allows them to learn how to negotiate cultural differences. Removing their own cultural filters, and seeing events through the eyes of those who are culturally different, accomplish this. An embedded experience, in which nurses interact with various cultures, would encourage them to adopt cultural competency knowledge (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, 2008). Environmental justice can affect the population’s health.
The healthcare system within America reflects increasing numbers of cultural diversity and awareness. According to Holloway (2004), cultural awareness is defined as the deliberate, cognitive process by which health care providers become appreciative of and sensitive to the values, beliefs, practices, and problem solving strategies of the clients’ cultures. Cultural awareness include an examination of one’s personal biases. In order to understand cultural diversity, individuals must strive to acknowledge the prejudices they may already hold toward different cultures. On the other hand, cultural competence is a process through which health professionals can integrate their knowledge and skills to improve culturally effective interactions with clients (Tjale & Villiers, 2004).
Cultural competence has to do with one’s culture. Culture affects among other factors, how children are raised, how families communicate, what is considered normal or abnormal, ways of coping with issues, the way we dress, when and where we seek medical treatment, and so forth. I should know because I come from a very cultural home where it is considered bad to talk to a male doctor about anything gynecological.
...ome culturally competent: (a) valuing diversity, (b) having the capacity for cultural assessment, (c) being conscious of the dynamics inherent when cultures interact, (d) having institutionalized cultural knowledge, and (e) having developed adaptations of service delivery that reflect an understanding of cultural diversity.
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
Culture may be defined in a broad and narrow context. The broad definition includes demographic variables ( age, gender), status variables ( social, educational, economic) and affiliations ( formal and informal), as well as ethnographic variables, such as ethnicity, nationality, language. Narrow definition of culture is limited to the terms of ethnicity and nationality, which are important for individual and familial identity, but the concept of culture in Counselling usually goes beyond national and ethnic boundaries. It interprets culture in a broader aspect, it aims to go beyond its more obvious and verifiable symbols toward the more subjective perspectives its members hold. Counselling deals with the subjective aspect of culture, which refers to the internalised feeling, attitudes, opinions and assumptions that members of a particular culture hold, as well as with the objective, which involves visible aspects, that are culturally adopted and determined and can be identified by both persons within and outside a given culture.
Understanding race, ethnicity, and culture is an extremely important aspect of being a counselor. If an individual does not have cultural identity of their own or understand his or herself as a cultural, ethnic, or racial individual, it may be difficult to help your clients. Understanding and being aware of your cultural identity will help the counselor be conscious of their own prejudice. Being aware of your own prejudice towards any culture, race, or ethnic group may help you redirect your negative thinking into a positive active role as a counselor. Having awareness will make an individual an improved counselor able to empathize and understand any individual who seeks therapy.
57). Multicultural counseling competencies include three domains: awareness, knowledge, and skills (Sue & Sue, 2016). Awareness is about being both culturally aware and aware of the self. Understanding characteristics of different cultures, barriers, and worldviews of cultures will instill knowledge in the counselor. Skills incorporate the ability to demonstrate helpful verbal and nonverbal communication, intervention skills, styles, and roles in a culturally competent way for each
Firstly, beliefs and attitudes infer the counselor’s ability to move beyond cultural unawareness for safeguarding that their personal biases, values or problems will not affect their ability to work with culturally diverse clients (Corey, 2013). In the same way, culturally skilled counselors are cognizant of the fact that “cultural self-awareness and sensitivity to one’s own cultural heritage” plays an integral role in the helping process (Corey, 2013, p.
Ethnic groups, their present and their future, are determined by factors like history, education, religion and politics. These factors build and shape the cultural identity of people and have a major effect in their way of thinking, lifestyle, behaviour, habits, morals, ideology, preferences, traditions, etc.” For this reason “what constitutes normal behavior is not the same to people of different social, economic, political and cultural backgrounds (Bayne, Jinks, Collard, Horton, 2008).
Cultural sensitivity occurs when people recognize and are aware that each country or various ethnic groups of people have their own set of experiences, beliefs, values, and language that affect their perceptions toward life. Addressing Cultural sensitivity permits people to comprehend that there are differences between cultures. Furthermore, having awareness in the differences between cultures permits a culturally competent person to communicate effectively with others that are outside of one’s realm. Some of the differences of Cultural sensitivity can be discovered while traveling outside of the country, such as through Cross-cultural sensitivity experiences. Likewise, a culture has its own norms and beliefs to how one should dress; how one should greet others, such as by referring to a significant individual by his or her first name or surname (comprehending which name should be stated first in foreign names); and/or what foods are permitted to eat or forbidden to eat or understanding what may offend a person (e.g. not accepting a home cooked meal). There are norms, taboos, cultural cues, and cultural etiquette standards that are significant to learning about one’s culture before exploring another country or while working with people who are from your country but who are part of another racial group. It takes time and patience to build a high level of Cultural sensitivity. Educating oneself with a culture’s psychology and its norms is significant toward achieving an increasing awareness toward Cultural sensitivity.