Richard Stuart (2012) discusses multicultural competence in regards to clinical psychology in his article “Twelve Practical Suggestions for Achieving Multicultural Competence.” The author defines the meaning of multicultural competence as “the ability of to understand and constructively relate to the uniqueness of each client in light of the diverse cultures that influence each person’s perspective” (Stuart, 2012, p. 193). In addition to defining the issue, the article highlights past mistakes in trying to achieve multicultural competence in clinical psychology and presents 12 suggestions for future success in this regard. Stuart details past problems in the field related to socioeconomic status. While the author concedes that socioeconomic status and mental health do have a strong negative correlation, earlier studies ascribed neurotic conditions to the more affluent members of society and psychotic conditions to poorer individuals. These findings changed the way mental health services were delivered for decades. The author presents the socioeconomic example as a means of showing that caution should be used in differentiating members of society, claiming that within group differences are much greater than between group differences. Stuart holds that, while differences are worth being noted, it is important not to but too much emphasis on a label. This idea is developed in greater depth later in the article, when the author discusses the differences between cultural sensitivity versus cultural stereotypes. Building off of the socioeconomic example presented, Stuart continues detailing the complexities regarding culture. Some of the issues discussed are the subjective nature of cultures, the ambiguous boundaries of cultures... ... middle of paper ... ...alue them. The second is individuality. The individual’s place in a culture and their interpretation of it comes before all. Labels can often be detrimental to outcomes. The client’s perception of their self is what matters more. The last is context. The clinician must understand the client in a context of multiple systems, with culture being just one of them. While culture may have a great impact on the individual, other systems including family or work can have similar effects, as well. The complete world of the client must be accounted for in all areas of treatment. References Stuart, R.B. (2012). Twelve practical suggestions for achieving multicultural competence. In S.O. Lilienfeld & W.T. O’Donohue (Eds.), Great readings in clinical science: Essential selections for mental health professionals (pp. 193-200). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
During the initial interview with the client a new format is used called the Cultural Case Formulation. This takes into account the cultural identity of the person, their cultural definitions of distress, and cultural stressors. Psychosocial stressors are included which can be unique to each culture and the level that a person identifies with their culture can be taken into account when treatment planning. By assessing a client's cultural identity this may allow the clinician to identify barriers or commonalities between themselves and the
In conclusion, Becker’s argument concerning cultural interaction in his article, Culture: A Sociological Viewpoint, is flawed because of the use of fallacious analogies, historical record of rapid social change and uniqueness of micro social situations. Becker fails to acknowledge the diverse array of subcultures within larger cultures that challenge social norms as well as the diversity of socioeconomic factors that can alter a person’s life experience and decision making within a culture. In short, one does not need to adhere to cultural norms to be a member of a wider culture such as American culture.
Cuéllar, I., & Paniagua, F. A. (2000). Handbook of Multicultural Mental Health : Assessment and Treatment of Diverse Populations. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
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.
Acculturation, worldview and perceived discrimination as cultural variables influence career behaviors of racial/ethnic minorities. Multicultural education and diversity appreciation training are thought to decrease counselor prejudice. Theme four looks at multicultural issues that require counselors to incorporate cultural data into their thinking and actions. Multicultural competence incorporates learning how to include cultural data into decision making process of complicated problems and interventions posed by culturally different clients. Theme five posits that people have multiple identities that affect the ways they experience and view the world. Multiple identities are used to refer to variables such as sex, age, socioeconomic status, nationality and ethnicity which impact an individual’s behavior, perception and
Gain knowledge and experience in multicultural competencies which involves case conceptualization, diagnosis, treatment, referral, and prevention of mental and emotional disorders
Sue, D. W., Arredondo, P., & McDavis, R. J. (1992). Multicultural Counseling Competencies and Standards: A Call to the Profession. Journal of Counseling & Development, 70(4), 477-486.
In conclusion, working with multicultural clients can be challenging and rewarding. From this essay, I’ve established that prior to a counselor entering the field to counsel multicultural clients. It’s imperative to apply the two rules that have been discussed in this essay.
A superior kind of therapeutic relationship depends on both an emotional bond with the therapist and a rational and functioning connection. Both concepts have relevance for multicultural clinical work. I agree that it is important that a therapist explore the ethnic/multicultural background of a patient if and only if the betterment of the patient depends on it. This means that whatever the problem with the patient, it must be of a direct relationship to the culture...
It is important to practice culturally competent because knowing the background of other is a great way to help culturally competent counseling with their client or a person with building relationship. Everyone have their own culturally within their family, work and social life. Becoming culturally competent in counseling/mental health practice demands that nested or embedded emotions associated with race, culture, gender, and other sociodemographic differences be openly experienced and discussed (Sue, & Sue, 2016).
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
In the other hand, “simply recognizing and accepting cultural diversity is insufficient to attain cultural competency in health care”, as cited by Edelman (2014, p.26). It is important that before we get to know and understand other cultures, we are able to recognize our own beliefs and values, and more importantly, that we do not attempt to influence others with our own culture. Every person is unique and it is essential for us to be aware of that so we can meet their own needs and expectations while providing exceptional
Cognitive behavior therapy helps to change the way that people think or behave. This paper will discuss this approach applied through multicultural lenses. It will discuss a therapy session and how the therapist applied this approach and how effective it was. It will then explain how the therapist applied the AMCD multicultural counseling competencies.
Cultures are infinitely complex. Culture, as Spradley (1979) defines it, is "the acquired knowledge that people use to interpret experiences and generate social behavior" (p. 5). Spradley's emphasizes that culture involves the use of knowledge. While some aspects of culture can be neatly arranged into categories and quantified with numbers and statistics, much of culture is encoded in schema, or ways of thinking (Levinson & Ember, 1996, p. 418). In order to accurately understand a culture, one must apply the correct schema and make inferences which parallel those made my natives. Spradley suggests that culture is not merely a cognitive map of beliefs and behaviors that can be objectively charted; rather, it is a set of map-making skills through which cultural behaviors, customs, language, and artifacts must be plotted (p. 7). This definition of culture offers insight into ...
To conclude, cultures are a major part of our lives and they constitute the image we see the world in. cultures can sometimes influence us, even in ways we don’t expect. Sometimes we find ourselves forced in cultures with negative stereotypes but that does not mean we should be ashamed of those cultural groups but rather embrace our culture and stray from the negative characteristics of that