Cultural Awareness In Social Work

Cultural Awareness (p. 125) Cultural awareness is considered the first step for a culturally competent social worker. This concepts involves a person being knowledgeable and consciously aware of their own life experiences. This includes experiences within their own culture and interactions with people from other cultures. Personal racism and prejudice are evaluated and an individual knows their areas of strength and weakness. At the generalist level, one is aware of their own life experiences, personal racism, the negative experiences of others, and personal contact with other cultures. At the advanced level, a social worker has the ability to consider their interactions on a deeper level, including evaluating what was considered at the

Skill development is essentially the action phase that follows cultural awareness and knowledge acquisition. Skill development is the area of cultural competency where the human service professional acquires the information and abilities necessary to successfully work with a client. The generalist level of skill development could include the ability to overcome client resistance; the effective use of self-disclosure; the ability to identify, define, evaluate, and excavate challenges/problems; and assessment/evaluation of progress. A social worker with advanced skill development can design, understand, and actively participate in culturally diverse programs in their

Understanding where we come from and the culture of our family can help us to understand traditions and their origins, especially when those traditions might not be shared with other cultures, such as the celebration of a holiday.

4. Practice cultural other awareness Cultural awareness doesn’t come naturally and without effort; if it did, everyone would automatically be culturally aware. It takes practice to become competent at cultural awareness, and competence takes practice. We must constantly strive as social workers to “walk the walk.” We should continue to learn more and actively be culturally aware in our lives, both during and outside of work.

5. Construct a client-worker intersectionality system Intersectionality can be defined as a crossroads in our life, and cultural awareness involves crossroads. Our culture interacts and intersects with other cultures, and our lives intersect with the lives of others. This occurs when we come into contact with a client. Our paths cross with theirs and it is important that we utilize this opportunity to connect with people to the fullest. We should be aware of our culture, their culture, and the similarities and differences of each. There are also different aspects of our lives and selves that interact, such as religion, ethnicity, age, career, family background, education, etc. All of these factors intersect, contributing to our cultural