Counseling diverse clients ethically involves knowledge of one’s own cultural group, values, and awareness of one’s current stage of racial identity development as well as an understanding of minority clients’ stage of racial and cultural identity (Sue, & Sue, 2013). As a White student counselor I read the article titled, “Racism and White Counselor Training: Influence of White Racial Identity Theory and Research,” by Sherlon Pack-Brown (1999) and reviewed Sue and Sue’s (2013) stages of racial and cultural identity in order to gain personal knowledge and insight.
In Pack-Brown’s (1999) article, the relationship between racism, White racial identity, and White counselor training was investigated. Racism is an attitude, action, or system that discriminates against a person or groups of people based on the color of their skin or by their physical features. Racial identity is the sense a person has of belonging to a specific group of people and the sense that the group shares a racial heritage. For White counselors, racial identity development involves the fostering of a healthy White racial identity and sense of self as a White person. According to Pack-Brown, knowing one’s own racial identity is crucial to ethical counselor training (1999).
Racial Identity Theory consists of five assumptions: Every member of society belongs to one or more groups of people; Belonging to a group influences a person’s worldview; The United States is a race centered society and operates on a hierarchy of racial groups; A racist social environment influences the process of racial identity development; As one develops socially, one grapples with racial identity (Brown et al., 1996; Helms, 1984, 1990, 1995; Parker, 1998; Ponterotto, 1993; Pope-Davis & ...
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...aking travelers being kicked off of a train due to their behavior and because the conductor wrongly stereotyped them as Americans. He had a prejudice against Americans, which was verbally expressed.
I had a gut reaction when I read that we live in a “racially centered society” a component of Racial Identity Theory. A part of me does not want this to be true and desires to believe that we are not as focused on race as a society as this statement suggests. I realize that this reaction is because of the White privilege I have grown up with and that being racially centered does not have to translate into a negative interpretation. Racially centered with a hierarchal displacement of power and privilege is wrong. Racially centered with a celebration of racial diversity, equality and understanding would be another matter. Thus, to be a part of the celebration of racial
Hud-Aleem, Raushanah, and Jacqueline Countryman. "Biracial Identity Development and Recommendations in Therapy." Psychiatry (Edgmont). Matrix Medical Communications. Web. 09 Mar. 2016.
The Helms White Racial Identity Model, created by Dr. Janet Helms, has six stages which are now referred to as statuses. The statuses are, contact, disintegration, reintegration, pseudoindependence, immersion/emersion, and autonomy. The first status, contact, shows obliviousness to being unaware of racism. This status shows that an individual believes everyone has an equal chance to success and lacks understanding of discrimination and prejudice. The second status is the disintegration status meaning that there is conflict among an individual’s loyalty to their group and “humanistic ideals”. These people may try to avoid people of a different race, may attempt to be “color blind”, and may seek reassurance from other Whites that racism is not their fault. The next status is reintegration. If reintegration occurs, racial/ethnic minorities may be blamed for their problems.
One of Beverly Tatum's major topics of discussion is racial identity. Racial identity is the meaning each of us has constructed or is constructing about what it means to be a white person or a person of color in a race-conscious society. (Tatum, pp Xvii) She talks about how many parents hesitate to talk to their children about racism because of embarrassment and the awkwardness of the subject. I agree with her when she says that parents don't want to talk about racism when they don't see a problem. They don't want to create fear or racism where none may exist. It is touchy subject because if not gone about right, you can perhaps steer someone the wrong way. Another theory she has on racial identity is that other people are the mirror in which we see ourselves. (tatum pp18) 'The parts of our identity that do capture our attention are those that other people notice, and that reflects back to us.'; (Tatum pp21) What she means by this is that what other people tell us we are like is what we believe. If you are told you are stupid enough you might start to question your intelligence. When people are searching for their identity normally the questions 'who am I now?'; 'Who was I before?'; and 'who will I become'; are the first that come to mind. When a person starts to answer these questions their answers will influence their beliefs, type of work, where they may live, partners, as well as morals. She also mentions an experiment where she asked her students to describe themselves in sixty seconds. Most used descriptive words like friendly, shy, intelligent, but students of color usually state there racial or ethnic group, while white students rarely, if ever mention that they are white. Women usually mention that they are female while males usually don't think to say that they are males. The same situation appeared to take place when the topic of religious beliefs came up. The Jewish students mentioned being Je...
Mills (2017) outlines the difficulty that some multiracial people have with others categorizing their identity for them and the resulting feeling of being forced to identify with one group over another, while not making room for the experience of multiracial identity in of itself. Moreover, this can be a marker of oppression and discrimination, which can then impact a person’s identity as their turmoil is internalized. Mock’s (2014) experience as a biracial Black and Native Hawaiian parallels this. During her time in California and Texas, Mock grew up in a community of black people of colour and was perceived as a black person, so her identity as a Native Hawaiian was erased and not externally visible. In contrast, when living in Hawaii, Mock was treated as an outsider and nonlocal because she presented as a black woman of colour. This goes to show that intersectional identity is more than what is presented on the outside and that all racial identities need to be recognized and affirmed. Moreover, social workers can utilize the art of meeting clients where they are by letting the client tell their story, learning about their experiences, and empowering, recognizing, and validating their multiracial identities (Harkey, Sortedahl, Crook, & Sminkey, 2017). Every client will construct and experience their racial identity in a
Miller, J., & Garran, A. M. (2008). Racism in the United States: Implications for the helping professions. Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole.
This cognizance really ensued when I first started work as an educational therapist in a residential placement for severely emotionally disturbed teenage girls. Being in such a arbitrary position of power was difficult enough with people who have issues with control and lack of respect from elders but I also happened to be the only male ever in this position at the facility and a "white guy" to boot. Ninety percent of my clients happened to be Latina or African American. This ethnic flash point did not initially bother me because of my lack of awareness of its existence and my naive determination that it was not important for my therapeutic and educational goals. However, of course I had not really considered at that time what being 'white' really entails in this society. Consideration of one's identity is obviously key to successful educational and therapeutic interventions but it took the actual experience of being what I call "white-washed" to make me realize that skin color may actually have something important to do with one's perceived identity.
Prior to beginning my readings on white racial identity, I did not pay much attention to my white race. If someone had asked me to describe my appearance I would have said short blond hair, blue eyes, average stature, etc. One of the last things I would have noted was the color of my skin. Growing up in overwhelmingly white communities, I never thought to use the color of my skin to differentiate myself from others. Over the course of this dialogue I have learned that my white racial identity is one of the most defining aspects of my appearance in this society. There is a certain level of privilege that I am afforded based solely on the color of my skin. According to Peggy McIntosh, “White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, assurances, tools, maps, guides, codebooks, passports, visas, clothes, compass, emergency gear, and blank checks” (71). All these objects listed by McIntosh are things I have access to and certainly take for granted. Due to a history of non-white racial oppression, which transformed into decades of racial discrimination that still lingers today, the white race has dominated our society in terms of resources and prosperity. The ideas of wealth, higher-level education and ambition to succeed are all traits commonly linked to people of the white race that collectively define privilege. The aspect of privilege can also produce disadvantages for people of the white race as well. In the book Promoting Diversity and Justice, the author D. Goodman notes that people of advantage groups develop a sense of superiority, which will sometimes lead them to wonder if, “their achievements were based on privilege or merit” (107). Along with a diminished sense of accomplishment, the cost ...
Comparing and contrasting models of identity development in people of color with racial identity models for whites, in Chapter 12 they address the issue of White identity development and discuss how it may impact clients of color. These specialists point out that while the Racial/ Cultural Identity Development model in people of color proves beneficial in our work as therapists, more attention should be devoted toward the White therapist's racial identity.
Unlike cultural competence, Anti- racism and the Anti-oppression framework has a clear focus, to directly address oppressive practices, and privilege in large institutions. In the “ More than being against it: Anti– racism and Anti –oppression in mental health services “ the authors Simon Corneau and Vicky Stergiopouls, identify seven strategies of the anti-racism and anti-oppression that should be employed when practicing direct service with clients. These seven strategies are "empowerment, education, alliance building, language, alternative, healing strategies, advocacy, social justice/activism, and fostering reflexivity” (Corneau & Stergiopoulos, 2012). The goal of using these seven strategies with clients is to engage the client in the process of care by recognizing the strengths and knowledge that the client brings to the relationship and honoring the idea that there is a racial feature of oppression that is inherent in the dynamics of the client clinician relationships. For example, the use of this practice in my current job with the Family Drug Courts could have a profound effect on the outcomes for both parents and children involved in the program. One example is the case of a 28-year-old mother of three that was separated from her children because of her drug addiction. This parent had an extensive history of trauma,
Introduction We live in a society where race is seen as a vital part of our personalities, the lack of racial identity is very often an important factor which prevents people from not having their own identity (Omi & Winant, 1993). Racism is extremely ingrained in our society and it seems ordinary (Delgado & Stefanic, 2000). However, many people denounce the expression of any racist belief as immoral (Miles & Brown, 2003) highlighting the complicated nature of racism. Critical Race Theory tries to shed light on the issue of racism, claiming that racism is ingrained in our society both in legal, cultural, and psychological aspects of social life (Tate, 1997). This essay provides us with the opportunity to explore this theory and its influence in the field of education.
One’s cultural identity consists of their race, gender, socioeconomic status, age, religion, and so on. Being aware of your own cultural identity is just as important as being aware of other’s. People’s cultural identity defines who they are, the privilege (or lack of privilege) they receive, and how society views them. It is important to understand that White individuals have more privileges than individuals of color. White individuals do not experience detriment and difficulties due specifically to their skin color and instead receive advantages. White privilege is defined as benefits that white individuals have that people of color do not (Kendall, 2012). The following walks through my personal cultural background, how it was shaped, defined, and developed, and limitations to my personal competencies.
Times are changing and I feel like I am forced to conform to the everyday social norms of America, which makes me feel impuissance. Racial identity, which refers to identifying with a social group with similar phenotypes and racial category, is the only experience that I have with life (Organista, 2010). Racial ethnicity was used to build my self-esteem and to keep me in the dark when it came to how society treats individuals of darker complexion. However, once I left the confines of my family and neighborhood, I was forced to befriend and interact with individuals that had different cultural values and beliefs than me. This experience caused me to learn how to appreciate other racial and ethnic groups and their cultural values and belief. This is an accurate definition, of acculturation because I was able to understand and fit in with individuals different from me, while maintaining my own culture and ethnic identity. Therefore, knowing the importance of my ancestry, while acculturating and developing my own identity was all used
The purpose of this paper will explore the changes of society and how a greater need for awareness is needed in a changing population of diverse culture. The demands of multicultural competency are required by the ACA code of Ethics for mental health counselors, which enables them to have the ability to work with diverse families, gender, and other ethnic groups. The paper to examines the experiences of working in racially/ethnically, social and cultural diverse population groups. This paper will further examine the need to respect levels of diversity and address the complexities that are unique or distinctive when professionally counseling clients in today’s society.
In terms of the personal and professional journey related to race I am at two distinct positions. First, from a personal perspective, I am aware and accepting of my racial identity. Further, I am aware and accepting of other’s perception of self in their process of becoming. Notwithstanding this reflection, I recognize that I am also always in the process of becoming. A lot of the challenges I encounter revolve around the methods I use to intervene with others who I perceive as struggling within the transecting spheres of race, privilege, bias, stereotypes and prejudices. Whereas before this class I was more fixed on a “matter-of-fact” type intervention, where I would point out the behavior of others (their comments, the “underlying” meaning of their remarks, etc.), and force them into a realization of their incoherence, I am now creating a less antagonistic deportment. This step of my personal journey involves categorizing importance on the underlying reactions of others towards racial dialogues (cognitive, behavioral, and emotional), and the various types of microagression being utilized in the presentation of dialogue; then, converging my energy towards finding exceptions to their biases, and providing understanding rather than a comprehensive
Sue and Sue (2016) posited that White helping professionals may bring racism unintentionally into the helping relationship if they “do not have a sense of what their Whiteness means to them” and if they “often perceive themselves as moral, good, decent human beings and find it difficult to see themselves as racist” (p. 395). Through applying the racial identity development model, it became evident that I do not have a full understanding of my own racial identity as a White individual and that I am still in the stage of actively assessing my own racial identity. While I do have a significant amount of difficulty admitting to racism, I am aware that this is something that I will have to accept and acknowledge as I progress in my development as a culturally competent counselor. It will only be through further development of my own racial identity that I can truly achieve cultural competency and ensure that I am not bringing any bias into the helping relationship. After all, the Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development (AMCD) Multicultural Counseling Competencies (1996) emphasized that culturally competent counselors “are constantly seeking to understand themselves as racial and cultural beings and are actively seeking a nonracist identity” (p.