Cultural Identity Development Model Paper

Cultural identity development model as discussed by Rita and John Sommers-Flanagan (2007) is comprised of six stages described as individuation, dissonance, immersion, internalization, integration and transformation. Individuation reflects having a little insight into self and others while dissonance involves minimal recognition of parts of self that are real but have gone unnoticed or devaluated with others. Immersion on the other hand, describes the identification with characteristics of self that are similar to others. Similarly, internalization occurs when one begins to give a positive valence to parts of the self that were once devalued.

Correspondingly, I explored ethical and issues in couples and family therapy in my Critical annotation of the book, “Issues and Ethics in the Helping Professions (7th ed.)”. Couples and family therapy is embedded within the foundation of systems theory which postulates “psychological problems as arising from within the individual’s present

environment and the intergenerational family system” (Corey, Corey & Callanan, 2006, p. 438). The family systems perspective is developed on the notion that clients’ problematic behaviors may serve a purpose for the family, may be a function of the family’s inability to operate efficiently and may be a symptom of dysfunctional patterns handed down across generations. The American Association for Marriage and Family Therapists proposed eight core ethical standards for couples and family therapy. These codes are outlined as: responsibility to clients; confidentiality; professional competence and integrity; responsibility to students and supervisees; responsibility to research participants; responsibility to the profession; financial arrangements and advertising.
In my writing assignment for the course Ethics, I discussed, as a professional, my ethical code is guided and developed by personal moral qualities inclusive of respect; sincerity; integrity; fairness; honesty; humility; trustworthiness and empathy. These qualities are further supplemented by the policies governing the organization that I am a part of, multiculturalism and competence. Such personal moral qualities were acquired through socialization primarily within my family of origin and have guided me throughout my life thus far. Within my family background, the principles of honesty, respect, empathy and humility were deemed integral components to my parents in every developmental phase of my life. As such, the expectation was to be respectful to everyone during passing encounters where my interactions would be constituted of simple etiquette phrases including those of “good morning”, “please”, “thank you”, “excuse me” and “you are welcome”. Similarly, if the actions I engaged in were considered to go against the rules either at home, school, community, church and or recreational settings, I was expected to speak up and accept responsibilities for my wrong doing.
Consequently, in working in the counseling field, I feel compelled and like I owe it to myself, clients and colleagues to function within the realms of the values alluded to above coupled with organizational and professional ethical codes to maintain professionalism.

Every human being should be treated with great dignity and respect irrespective of their past and present actions. I use this philosophy as my guideline for working in the counseling field, as the personal moral qualities embraced by counselors goes a very far way with them establishing relationships with their clients which inevitably impact treatment outcomes. As a mental health professional, I have a duty to maintain healthy and respectful relationships with my clients and am obligated to act in the best interest of my clients, associates and society. Of noteworthy, counseling code of ethics has been found to play an integral role in endorsing personal growth, development and wellness values (King & Capella,

2013).
Conversely, in my Internship essay, I discussed my continued dependence on Rogerian therapy in establishing healthy counseling relationships with my clients and adopted it as a very effective leadership style for use in the individual, family and group settings I was able to function in. In my essay, I discussed, the relationship between a therapist and a client is thought to be a key component of treatment outcome. Accordingly, I was able to establish a therapeutic alliance with my clients both in the home and clinic settings through use of Rogerian therapy which embraces the characteristics of being respectful to all clients, treating them fairly and accepting them as unique individuals. For my in home cases especially, I found that being understanding, empathetic, respectful and cooperative were key components into establishing a therapeutic alliance with the families I have worked with primarily regarding cancellations and rescheduling. Additionally, a Rogerian style of leadership in my mind, serves to mirror clients feelings, thoughts and perspectives through reflection.
In successfully meeting this competency, I believe the courses of Ethics, Counseling Theory and Practice, my internship experience and a Leadership and Supervision training I attended were very helpful in me demonstrating understanding of the competency being discussed. During the Leadership and Supervision training I had attended, I felt like the term “Jerry Rice” which describes a leader that “gets the job done”, one who guides, develop, advocate, train, lead by example, and impacts knowledge. Best practice in relation to this competency, involves being self-aware and knowledgably of my personality, competencies and inadequacies, having a good grasp of theories incorporated into the field, having knowledge of and remaining current with ethical codes and guidelines governing the field.