Diversity Focused Conferences: Case Study

In my personal opinion and experience, I find that the field of psychology is lacking in diverse cultural competencies as much as the society is diverse in its population. I believe that as with using any theoretical model, the therapists’ cultural knowledge needs to include understanding of the many cultural considerations influencing the effectiveness of treatment when dealing with clients from diverse backgrounds. When servicing the individuals in the family, care and attention needs to be directed towards family and community norms and values around help seeking, secrecy and confidentiality, family roles, child rearing and spiritual practices.

Cultural competency aids in closing the “disparities gap” in health care. ("OMH," 2012, para. 2) In doing so, health professionals and their clients are better able to discuss concerns without cultural differences getting in the way of effective communication and problem solving. Being respectful of and sensitive to the client’s health beliefs, culture, values, and diverse needs can bring positive outcomes within treatment and patient care. After all, is it not the main job of the health care provider to ensure patient trust? Open forms of communication when dealing with client issues can only be provided if the patient is comfortable with his provider and believes his

Cultural competency is the capacity of people or services to include ethnic/cultural considerations into all aspects of their work related to health promotion, disease prevention and other and other healthcare interventions (Cultural competence is important for several reasons, (Purnell, 2008a).First, it can contribute in the development of culturally sensitive practices which can reduce barriers that effect treatment in healthcare settings. Second, it can promote understanding, which is detrimental in cultural competence assessment, to know whom, the individuals known as the primary care provider and whom they view as the primary healer, can attribute to the promotion of trust and increase the person’s interest in participating

It is important to be aware of one’s limitations, weaknesses and strengths in the delivery of counseling services. Taking into account the cultural values of the client, the support systems and the client’s view of the key parts of his or her makeup (the history of the client) are culture specific (because someone is of the same race does not mean that values will be the same) and does not discount the individual. Sue et al reminds us that multicultural counseling competency looks beyond racial and ethnic minorities and also includes disabilities, sexual orientation, age, and other special populations (Sue, et al, 1992).

A multicultural competent counselor refers to, someone who’s able to work efficiently with groups of students from culturally distinct groups (Thomas & Vines, 2008). Furthermore, culture competency plays a key role in how counselors diagnose and treat their patients from any background or culture. Surgeon General (2001) largely defines culture as a common heritage or set beliefs, norms and values. Culture can be applied to all groups of people but unfortunately; there are major mental health disparities amongst minority individuals compared to white individuals. According to the Surgeon General (2001), ethnic minorities have less access to mental health services than their white counterparts. Additionally, minorities

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

Each client is influenced by race, ethnicity, national origin, life stage, educational level, social class, and sex roles (Ibrahim, 1985). The counsellor must view the identity and development of culturally diverse people in terms of multiple interactive factors rather than a strictly cultural framework (Romero, 1985).

In a multicultural counseling perspective there are four key approaches when counseling individuals, (a) multicultural awareness of culturally learned assumptions about self and others leading to accurate assessments of clients, (b) multicultural knowledge of information, (c) multicultural skills and interventions, that are appropriate treating clients, and (d) individuals are from a variety of backgrounds, demographic status, and affiliation of cultures. The three-stage approach, will direct the counselor towards levels of multicultural competence in therapy by providing a successful outcome in the recovery process. When conducting a psychotherapy session with a client the counselor should be able to demonstrate skills, when exploring the client’s cultural background. Counselors should also be able to focus on the essential skills and pattern behaviors, when identifying cultural differences. Counseling a minority from a different culture counselors’ must be able to identify their own personal behaviors. These behaviors are crucial when counseling these individuals. First, a counselor must be able to sense the clients’ viewpoint or issue in some way. Secondly, a counselor should be specific when asking a question rather than being unclear and confusing.

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

Counselors who are unaware of diverse cultural viewpoints are more than likely to do intentional or unintentional damage when working within communities opposite of their own and with those whose cultures and worldviews differ from theirs. If a counselor is unaware of their own cultural identity, biases, and stereotypes, how then will they know if they are unintentionally causing harm to their clients or build rapport? Cultural self-awareness is relevant because counselors need to know their cultural identity and what they must offer their clients in a therapeutic relationship and to help clients become aware their cultural identities.

Because multicultural counseling can have a myriad of people with different personalities and backgrounds, many ethical procedures cannot address all the circumstances that a counselor could come across. According to Diller (2011) it is critical when preparing to work with clients of a particular ethnic group by doing research into the group’s history, culture, and health issues (p. 320). This would include not only academic, professional, or web searches, but travel,

They suggest going thorough certain Cultural Competence Assessments as a way to expand the facilities cultural knowledge, or cultural competence. The authors define culture competence as, “a term that describes what happens when special knowledge about individuals and groups of people is incorporated into standards, policies, and practices” (Working With Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Families, 2008). They stress the necessity of staff being culturally competent for a number of reasons. Some of their reasons include; “Understanding and appreciating a client’s cultural background expand treatment opportunities, enhancing the sensitivity and capacity to treat clients from other cultures improves a program’s ability to treat all clients, and cultural competence is increasingly a requirement of funding and accreditation bodies” (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (US),

The relationship of a counselor to his or her client can be troubled when the two come from different cultural backgrounds. "As counselors incorporate a greater awareness of their clients' culture into their theory and practice, they must realize that, historically, cultural differences have been viewed as deficits (Romero, 1985). Adherence to white cultural values has brought about a naive imposition of narrowly defined criteria for normality on culturally diverse people" (Bolton-Brownlee 1987). The challenge for counselors today is to balance multiculturalism and sensitivity for the client with the need to move the client forward and enable him or her to reach productive life goals. Cultural acceptance cannot be synonymous with complacency.

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

Counselors must gain awareness, knowledge, and skills in counseling diverse groups of clients (Corey, Corey, & Corey, 2014). Some ways to become culturally competent include, but are not limited to, respecting religious and spiritual beliefs as well as family roles; understanding the impact of adverse social and environmental factors when assessing problems and providing interventions; and providing group members with the expectations of the group process (Corey, Corey, & Corey, 2014). In order to create a respectful, productive, and beneficial group some ways to become a more culturally competent counselor include continuing to self-reflect on my own cultural identity, values, beliefs, and biases; read about, practice and implement group interventions that have been shown to be effective with different cultural groups; gain supervision when needed; and avoid imposing my own personal worldview onto the group members (Corey, Corey, & Corey, 2014). By doing these things as well as seeking out opportunities to learn more about the various cultures that I will be working with can help to expand my knowledge of diverse groups, continue to expand my personal self-awareness, and improve my skills towards becoming a more culturally competent