Cultural Issues In Social Work

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Recommended: Cultural competency to service users in social work

Introduction
As a social worker, it is essential to be diverse and culturally competent for the reason that one will encounter clients with diverse backgrounds from his or her own. A client may be different due to their race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or any other factor. However, the social worker’s purpose is to enhance the client’s well-being while attending to his or her needs, as well as being sensitive to their cultural and ethnic diversity (National Association of Social Workers, 1999). While working with a client, it is necessary to examine the social system and apply the appropriate theories or perspectives that can be applied to that particular case. Additionally, it is important to determine how the social systems …show more content…

On the other hand, it could cause some issues between the social worker and the client. In Alexis’s case, remaining unbiased could be a problem. For instance, she is an atheist wanting to transgender from a female into a male. I identify as a Christian heterosexual. My beliefs could conflict with her beliefs regarding her religious preference and sexual orientation. Although my religion possesses different morals and values that would disagree with the idea of transgendering or atheism, it should not affect me from providing Alexis with the necessary social services that she requests for. In order to prevent any disagreements, I could conduct research on transgenders, including the processes and possible emotions so that I can empathize with her during this …show more content…

For instance, a survey indicated that youth whom are transgenders, in addition to lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and queers, will experience a higher risk of emotional distress, physical abuse or verbal harassment in comparison to their heterosexual colleagues (Daley et al., 2007). However, due to these societal factors, a social worker would have to know the possible consequences of the bullying and emotional tolls. Some possible at-risk behaviors for female to male transgenders include substance abuse, sexual promiscuity, or using hormones that are illegally obtained due to self-hatred of low self-esteem in regards of being transgender (Pazos, 2000). An effective way to help the client, such as Alexis, with the bullying would be to be educated about transgender issues regarding bullying against female to male transgenders, as well as providing counseling from a strengths perspective by acknowledging transgenderism as a part of the client’s identity (Pazos, 2000). By doing so, one would be able to empathize with the emotions or harassment that Alexis has undergone, as well as forthcoming

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