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Why is cultural competence important in counseling
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It is extremely important for school counselors to be culturally competent. I believe that this like other topics ultimately leads back to the need for school counselor to help with all of the inequities we see in school today. It is important that we help close the achievement gap. We have to be able to advocate for all students and this can only happen if we are culturally competent. We also need to show students that we are culturally competent so they believe we have the ability to help them. If a student believes that I will never understand them they will not feel comfortable le coming to me for personal or educational needs. When you consider that 80% of teachers are white and school counseling is typically embedded in white culture
it is extremely important that we be culturally competent and promote it in some way so that students are aware of this. Lastly, Culture shapes the atmosphere of the school and all that goes in it. If we are not prepared and culturally competent we are going to be unsuccessful in the school environment.
Sue, D. W., & Sue, D. (2013). Counseling the culturally diverse: Theory and practice (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons
I choose Chapter 4 Cultural Competence for the class discussion, and I addressed the following two points from the chapter. The first one was about Your Ethical Responsibility while working in the Human Service profession and the second was about Important Points to be Remember in Cross -Culture Interactions.
Counselors today face the task of how to appropriately counsel multicultural clients. Being sensitive to cultural variables can be conceptualized as holding a cultural lens to human behavior and making allowances for the possibility of cultural influence. However, to avoid stereotyping, it is important that the clinician recognize the existence of within-group differences as well as the influence of the client’s own personal culture and values (Furman, Negi, Iwamoto, Shukraft, & Gragg, 2009). One’s background is not always black or white and a counselor needs to be able to discern and adjust one’s treatment plan according to their client.
A therapist will face problems, issues and client troubles everyday. The professional must understand how their client relates to the world around them. These feelings and ideas affect how the client sees the problem and how they respond to their situation. Their actions, in turn, have bearing on individual thoughts, needs, and emotions. The therapist must be aware of the client's history, values, and culture in order to provide effective therapy. This paper will outline and provide information as to the importance of cultural competence and diversity in family therapy.
It is important for a counselor to be culturally competent. This is not always an easy task because there are a lot of different cultures with different values. The Racial/ Cultural Identity Development Model was created to help counselors understand their culturally diverse clients more. This model has five levels: conformity, dissonance, resistance and immersion, introspection, and integrative awareness. In this essay I am going to describe these levels and how it can impact the counseling process.
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
Cultural competence has to do with one’s culture. Culture affects among other factors, how children are raised, how families communicate, what is considered normal or abnormal, ways of coping with issues, the way we dress, when and where we seek medical treatment, and so forth. I should know because I come from a very cultural home where it is considered bad to talk to a male doctor about anything gynecological.
The ever-changing demographics of the United States have made multicultural counseling a challenge. Educating counselors to understand the significant of diverse cultures will provide an insight of the diverse society and its continual growth. History changes every second just as theories are forever developing the impact of each collectively play a role with the teachings of a diverse world in a counseling setting. No two individuals come from an exact experience. Individuals may have the same culture, but each person is different with a different set of standards pertaining to his or her ethnic upbringing. However, justifying treating everyone the same will forever be a challenge. Becoming a scholar-counselor involves understanding the difference and respecting one’s diversity. Persistent education pertaining to diversity is inevitable because of the diverse world.
school counseling, making them qualified to tend to all students academic and career/personal, and social life needs by guiding and evaluating in a school program that promotes the success of every student. You can be an elementary, middle school, or high school counselor. I chose this carrier for my senior exit project because therapy has been a very big part of my entire life, but I want to also be able to be that person in high school that every student knows they can come to about anything. I want to be a mentor and guide kids and help them create the most successful high school career that they can have and also be there mentally and emotionally.
Cultural Competence is being able to engage in respectful and effective practice with diverse individuals, families, and communities, preserving their dignity and affirming their worth. A social worker should be aware of their clients’ cultural and environmental contexts, in order to know a client’s strengths, but cultural competence is never fully realized, achieved, or completed, but rather cultural competence is a lifelong process for social workers who will always encounter diverse clients and new situations in their practice. Social workers should have a knowledge base of their clients’ cultures and be able to demonstrate competence in the provision of services that are sensitive to clients’ cultures. Social workers should obtain education
Cultural proficiency is seeing the difference and responding effectively in a variety of environments. Learning about organizational and individual culture, in which one can effectively interact in a variety of cultural environments (p. 3). In simple terms in which educators are not only able to effectively work with diverse populations, but also believe that diversity adds positive value to the educational enterprise (Landa, 2011, p. 12).
These principles include suggestions for dealing with their implications such as the use of multiple methods to convey information, providing explicit instruction in academic language, incorporating primary language supports, making expectations clear, and using testing accommodations when appropriate (2010). Characteristics of culturally responsive instruction include high expectations, positive relationships with families and communities, cultural sensitivity, active teaching methods, student control of portions of the lesson, and instruction around groups and pairs to create low anxiety (2010).
Understanding race, ethnicity, and culture is an extremely important aspect of being a counselor. If an individual does not have cultural identity of their own or understand his or herself as a cultural, ethnic, or racial individual, it may be difficult to help your clients. Understanding and being aware of your cultural identity will help the counselor be conscious of their own prejudice. Being aware of your own prejudice towards any culture, race, or ethnic group may help you redirect your negative thinking into a positive active role as a counselor. Having awareness will make an individual an improved counselor able to empathize and understand any individual who seeks therapy.
Cultural Competency is “the process by which individuals and systems respond respond respectfully and effectively to people of all cultures languages, classes, races, ethnic backgrounds, religions, and other diversity factors…” (Sue 24). In order to be culturally competent there are many factors that you must be knowledgeable about and practice in everyday interactions. Some of which include “understanding culture and its function in human behavior and society, ...have a knowledge base of their clients cultures and be able to demonstrate competence…, and obtain education about and seek to understand the nature of social diversity and oppression” (NASW 1999). I will have to know how to understand, interact with, and find the best possible solution for those who are both in my culture and those who come from many other cultures along with socio-economic backgrounds. As I was reading the introduction to Chapter two in our assigned textbooks I could not help but relate with what the content in the book started out at. Saying that all social workers must understand the perspectives of all people gets really overwhelming, especially when starting your path learning about social work. I felt like no person could be completely culturally competent because of the fact that you had to display being accepting and understanding and actually mean it.
Implications and Learning Each person’s cultural background influences the type of counselor they will be. Biases, values, beliefs and much more influence how a counselor approaches counseling. A main influence a counselor’s background has on their practice is the theory in which they identify.