In today’s society where an abundance of resources exists, social workers are often the entry point for people to access services. Therefore, it is imperative for social worker professionals to have a clear understanding of themselves in relation to the client from a cultural perspective. While the social work profession has always focused on social justice and oppression, it wasn’t until the civil rights movement that there was a conscious shift in the social work pedagogy to focus the social service practice on race, racism, and training the workforce in cultural competences. Later in the mid 1980’s, the tone of cultural competence would shift from race and racism to a more inclusive language, which includes a more robust list of all types …show more content…
While this definition of cultural competence seems all encompassing, and inclusive I have several critiques of the model and how it is practiced in the social work field: First, cultural competent practices are daunting, these practices often distract clinicians from understanding the role that race and racism often play in systems on a macro level. If clinicians are not aware of how race and racism contributes to the cycle of oppression, then they may not be able to identify how they themselves, maybe unconsciously participating in this system of oppression, there by creating a notion of colorblindness. Second, the current definition of cultural competence is one that has been modified to address multiple groups of oppressed people. It has been argued that the decision to broaden the definition negates the responsibility of the clinician to be fully aware of race and how it impacts their client’s daily experience. As well as their own biases in regards to different races and experiences with racism. These two individual perceptions have a key influence on the client, clinician …show more content…
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,
It is pertinent to study the history of racial oppression when preparing to counsel a client from an ethnic minority if the counselor is from the majority culture. The problem is it would be difficult to examine the complete history and would be highly impossible especially in a short time. However, a therapist can gain knowledge of some of the essentials of history such as, religion, family structure, and background information. If the therapist or counselor is uncomfortable counseling these individuals he/or she can refer the client to someone who has more knowledge or has the same cultural background as the client. For instance, a therapist must become aware of the sociopolitical dynamics that form not only their clients’ views, but their own as well. Racial and cultural dynamics may interfere into the helping process and cause misdiagnosis, confusion, pain and reinforcement of biases and prejudices towards their client.
It is important to include cultural issues in the helping process to be more effective. We also need cultural competence because the U.S. is becoming more diverse. Therefore with diversity comes different beliefs, norms, and values. Eurocentric values dominate sciences and began cultural universals which puts the clash of dominate and non-dominate cultural behaviors in motion. In 1996 the NASW Code of Ethics increased the recognition of cultural competence. It is important to know diversity exist within ethnic and cultural groups because social workers need to know that relationships between helping professionals and clients may be strained. This happens because of the distrust between groups. Another important aspect is that the professional realizes their own values, biases, and beliefs. The reason for this is because they must value diversity to start with and understand the dynamics of difference. Culturally competent practitioners have to go through developmental process of using their own culture as a starting point to meet all behaviors. Striving for cultural competence is a long term process of development. The literature on cultural competence is theoretical and conceptual. They have not been evaluated in a systematic way. Roughly there are 2 million Native americans in the U.S. Which survive decimating disease, over-repressed in child welfare system, suffer from health problems, and are among the poorest people in the United States. Working with them clearly falls within the social work clearly mandate to serve vulnerable and oppressed clients. However, we do not know how many people from this group is actually receiving help from social workers. Even though it is important to train social workers to provide care in th...
In the National Association for Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics, there are many standards a social worker should uphold in order to promote a healthy and helpful relationship with the client. One such aptitude is Cultural Competence and Social Diversity, which is in section 1.05 of the NASW code of ethics (National Association of Social Workers, 2008). There are three sections associated with this competency “Social workers should understand culture and its function in human behavior and society, recognizing the strengths of all cultures”. It is assumed that “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”. As a final point “Social workers should obtain education” in order to understand cultural diversity and oppression in people (NASW, 2008, p. 9).
As a social worker, the ability to merge cultural competencies with social work methods and theories allows intervention to be customized to meet their client’s need-based which vary upon culture. Since there are a massive amount of different cultures with different traditions, values, and beliefs the social worker needs to obtain the fundamentals of the culture in order to assess and advocate for the ethnic group effectively. The NASW of Ethics clearly values the competence and the Ethical Principle of Social workers practice within the areas of competence and enhances their professional expertise. In addition, “ Cultural competence is a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system or agency or among professionals and enable the system, agency, or professionals to work effectively in cross-cultural situations” (NASW, 2000b, p. 61). Cultural competency ensures that our primary mission of the social work profession to enhance human well-being and help meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty.
Springer, J. F, Sale, E, Kasim, R, Winter, W, Sambrano, Soldad, C, (2004). Sandra; Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work: Innovation in Theory, Research & Practice; Vol 13(3); 1-23. Doi: 10.1300/J051v13n03_01
When working with clients of diverse background and cultures, it is important for counselors to be conscious of this fact during assessment and subsequent counseling. Due to fact that much of Western psychology and counseling theories and approaches stem from a White, European viewpoint, experiences and symptoms of marginalized groups are also evaluated by this same perspective (Sue & Sue, 2016). Furthermore, Hays (2015) stated, “psychological assessment involves standardized procedures that have been developed and shaped by dominant culture, which largely ignores or dismisses cultural influences. As a result, cultural questions and consideration are commonly left out,” (p. 128).
Cultural competence like so many other social constructs has been defined in various ways. One particular definition as determined by the Office of Minority Health states cultural competence is a set of behaviors, attitudes, and policies that are systematically exercised by health care professionals which enables the ability to effectively work among and within cross-cultural situations (Harris, 2010). Betancourt (2005) implied cultural competence is starting to be seen as a real strategy to help with improving healthcare quality and eliminating the injustices pertaining to healthcare delivery and healthcare access. This appeal is gaining favor from healthcare policy makers, providers, insurers and
Imagine you are floating in the galaxy and you see the sun, a bright and powerful light in the center of the system. Revolving around this bright and powerful ball of light are celestial bodies orbiting and interacting with this sun. The closest bodies are the ones that are affected by the sun the most, the farther away the orbiting bodies are the less of an impact they have. Now, this is obviously not really about the actual galaxy, it is a metaphor for people’s personal systems and how they are affected by it or, in other words, a system perspective. In this example, the sun would be the individual and the celestial bodies or planets are the systems affecting the sun. For my personal system, the bodies closest to me that affect me the most
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
The need for cultural awareness and social diversity in social work practice comes from the fact that social workers will not always have clients that belong to the same groups that they do. Social workers should expect to work with clients of all races, genders, classes, social groups, and a number of other identifiers that the social worker may not have in common with them. As stated by Jani, Osteen, and Shipe, “Social workers believe that discrimination and prejudice directed against any group damage the social, emotional, and economic well-being of society as a whole” (Jani, Osteen, & Shipe, 2016). By adopting this belief and maintaining both cultural awareness and social diversity, the social worker is adhering to the NASW Code of Ethics, which places emphasis on the need to understand different cultures and to be aware of social injustices. In an effort to
In the practice of social work, social workers will have frequent contact with people who are of a diverse cultural background other than their own. That is why it is important for social workers to understand these diverse cultures, and to learn as much as they can about these diverse cultural backgrounds. With ethnographic interviewing, social workers take on the stance of being ignorant of a person’s cultural identity, and allows that person to be their guide to understanding their cultural background (Leigh, 1998). For this ethnographic interview, I spoke with a employee of the agency who is an African-American female in her mid- to upper 60’s. She served as a key informant for this interview. She provided information on the worldview of African-Americans in relation to family roles, religion, and raising a grandchild.
As a social worker, it is essential to be diverse and culturally competent for the reason that one will encounter clients with diverse backgrounds from his or her own. A client may be different due to their race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or any other factor. However, the social worker’s purpose is to enhance the client’s well-being while attending to his or her needs, as well as being sensitive to their cultural and ethnic diversity (National Association of Social Workers, 1999). While working with a client, it is necessary to examine the social system and apply the appropriate theories or perspectives that can be applied to that particular case. Additionally, it is important to determine how the social systems
It is imperative that social workers become knowledgeable about their clients’ cultures and are culturally sensitive. In learning about their clients’ cultures, social workers need to be aware of how powerful and significant culture is in relating to clients’ behavior, values, and beliefs. Becoming culturally competent requires the ability to integrate awareness, knowledge, and skills while maintaining a positive working relationship with the client (Sue and Zane, 1987). Today, the concerns regarding cultural competency continue to accentuate the importance of preparing social workers for a diversified society.
In social work, a social worker has to come to the client’s level and start from there. The client does not have to come to the social workers level. In order for this to happen the social worker has to know the importance of culture, race, gender, sexual, diversity and other forms of diversity to make the best decision for choosing a type of intervention. Understanding the client’s culture, race, gender, sexual diversity and other form of diversity is important because they affect each person differently. An example, Roberto is Latino and in their culture they believe in machomism, so this is something his social worker needs to know when addressing Roberto or someone of the Latino culture. Hispanic women bring machomism
Social Workers shall develop an understanding of their own personal and cultural values and beliefs as a first step in appreciating the importance of multicultural identities in the lives of people…Cultural competence includes knowing and acknowledging how fears, ignorance, and the “isms” (racism, sexism, ethnocentrism, heterosexism, ageism, classism) have influenced their attitudes, beliefs, and feelings. (citation)