Week 5 Assignment

Walden University

Cultural Competence

Fran is a new presenting client. She is 35 years old, single, and is a Jewish American. Fran is also a successful, renowned University professor. As her job as a professor, she has worked around a very flexible schedule. This includes working on the weekends as well as many Jewish holidays. She has been very committed to this for many years at the University, but is at a point and time in her life that she is tired of not having her feelings relating her religion and faith not taken into consideration. She is fully aware that she must commit to this teaching for the sake of her students receiving full credit, but because her coworkers and staff have yet to take her feelings into consideration, she comes to me to discuss her utmost feelings of disrespect. she expresses feelings of disrespect by the administration and her colleagues. Fran tells me that she even tried to address her concerns at faculty meetings. At this point it’s not just about her but all the other Jewish students that attend the university and must attend classes on those holidays as well. After all, she hasn’t had to work on Easter and Christmas numerous times, so she feels that her feeling really need to be considered.

To begin, Fran and I are very different, but at the same time we are the same. Fran is a single, Jewish American. I am a married, white American. However, I am also Native American and I know how painful the history is surrounding our ancestor’s genocides. The biggest difference between us, however, is that of religious faith. I am a Buddhist; she’s is Jewish. There are no known Buddhist holidays that are or are not recognized. I am also an advocate for hard working women deserving of respect-simply because I am one of them myself; I am a feminist. Conversely, like I mentioned in discussion posts as well as other compositions, my father fought in WWII and fought to end the war. Because of this personal connection, I have a greater and stronger respect for Jewish Americans then a lot of other individuals might. Considering these findings, I feel that my empathetic approach regarding Fran will be that of a strong one.

When demonstrating cultural competence with Fran, I would refresh myself with historical knowledge regarding her faith. I would also review the federal laws regarding workplace policies and the accommodations they are required to uphold as an employer. For instance, according to an online article entitled “Religious Accommodation in the Workplace: Your Rights and Obligations” it states in paragraph one that “Federal law requires an employer to "reasonably accommodate" an employee's religious observances, practices and beliefs unless the employer can show that accommodation would cause an "undue hardship" to the employer's business” (Kasdan, 2008). This presented information would be forwarded to Fran and encouraged to be forwarded to her supervisor or faculty staff that is responsible for creating her daily schedule. Maybe with the federally mandated information presented to her employer, change could take place for Fran.

Additionally, another thing I would do to make sure I was completely culturally competent is to be aware of other Jewish issues as well as though relating to religion. According to Schlosser (2006) “Finally, it is important for psychotherapists to know about Jewish issues because many American Jews are likely to utilize psychotherapy services. For example, despite finding no differences in lifetime prevalence rates for psychiatric disorders, Yeung and Greenwald (1992) discovered that Jews were more likely to seek mental health treatment than were Catholics, Protestants, “others, “and those who indicated “no religion.” In addition, non-Orthodox Jews hold favorable attitudes toward psychotherapy, while Orthodox and Hasidic Jews hold much more negative attitudes toward mental health treatment (Langman, 2000).” (pg. 425). I feel that learning about the different groups within the Jewish religion would be permanent information to gather. What is an Orthodox Jew versus Conservative versus Reconstructionist Jew? Which one would Fran consider herself? Another example of another Jewish issue I wasn’t completely aware of was that of Antisemitism. According to Schlosser (2006), Antisemitism is “hostility toward Jews that can manifest on an individual, institutional, or societal level” (Schlosser & MacDonald-Dennis, 2006, p. 44). Antisemitism has been documented for over 4000 years and comes in many forms (e.g., stereotypes, oppression, discrimination, segregation, pogroms, and genocide).” (pg. 428).

Lastly, with Fran approaching her employer with the information regarding the recognition of her religion when creating a schedule for her that would meet her needs, I would want to continue to remind Fran about her the strength of Judaism, and to encourage her to advocate for herself by discussing this with her employer; how it makes her an even more important and prestigious employer being a part of the Jewish community. For example: According to Sue and Sue (2016) “Judaism is more than a religion. It is a culture with a set of traditions and historical experiences that provide members with a sense of connection and commonality and feelings of acceptance”

I feel with the cultural competence that I already embrace, along with the concerns I would like to become more mindful of, I feel that I could assist Fran with generating an admirable, thought provoking approach that she could present to her employer to get her concerns and notions taken into consideration. Personally, as an employer, I would inspire and be pleased to have diverse individuals working for me and I would adhere to their outlooks and manners revolving around their religious holidays. It is my hope that Fran succeeds in this endeavor.

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