MSW 5002 WEEK 1 Model Cultural Competency

Cultural Self-Inventory

Adapted from: Miley, K. (1998). Generalist Social Work Practice: An Empowering Approach. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

Personal Identity

What are your ethnic identities?

Of which other cultural groups are you a member?

Which cultural memberships are most influential in the way you define yourself?

What characteristics or behaviors do you display that indicate the influences of these cultural identities?

What values are associated with these cultural memberships?

Do you feel positively or negatively about these identities?

Have you ever experienced discrimination based on your cultural memberships?

What privileges do your cultural memberships afford you?

Spiritual Beliefs

What are your spiritual beliefs?

What led you to these beliefs?

How important are spiritual beliefs in your daily life?

How do these beliefs influence the way you perceive others who hold different beliefs?

Knowledge of Others

What other cultural groups are present in your community?

What do you know about the beliefs, values, and customs of members of these other cultural groups?

What is the source of this knowledge?

Have your interactions with people from these cultures reinforced or altered this knowledge base?

What stereotypes or prejudices do you hold about other cultural groups?

What is the source of your bias?

What are you doing to increase your knowledge about people who are culturally different from you?

Cross-Cultural Skills

Are you currently involved in relationships or activities in which you have ongoing interactions with people from other cultures?

What is your comfort level while interacting with people who are culturally different from you?

Are you able to talk with people who are culturally different from you about these differences?

What languages do you speak other than your own primary language?

What words, phrases, or nonverbal behaviors do you know that have different meanings in different cultures?