Discussion Forum-

LECTURE NOTES: CHAPTER 9 Culturally Competent Helping

Chapter Outline

I. Cultural Diversity in the United States and Globally II. The Changing Face of America III. The Need for Cultural Competence IV. Defining Culturally Competent Helping V. Developing Cultural Competence

a. Multicultural Counseling Competencies Model i. Attitudes and Beliefs

ii. Knowledge iii. Skills

b. Advocacy Competencies and Social Justice i. Acting with the Client, Community, and Public

ii. Acting on Behalf of the Client, Community, and Public c. Tripartite Model of Personal Identity d. The RESPECTFUL Model

VI. Becoming Culturally Sensitive: Knowledge and Words a. Culture b. Prejudice, Stereotypes, and Racism c. Discrimination and Microaggression d. Ethnicity e. Minority and Nondominant Group f. Power Differentials g. Race h. Religion and Spirituality i. Sexism, Heterosexism, and Sexual Prejudice j. Sexual Orientation k. Social Class (“Class”) l. Political Correctness, or, “Oh My god, What Do I Call Him or Her?”

VII. Ethical, Professional, and Legal Issues: The Client’s Right to Culturally Competent Counseling

VIII. The Effective Human Service Professional: Open to the Continual Development of a Multicultural Perspective

SUMMARY: This chapter begins by showing the wide-range of diversity that exists in the United States and the world. The need for cultural competence in human service work is explained presenting eight viewpoints that some human service professionals hold that prevent them from working effectively with clients from nondominant groups. These include: the melting pot myth, incongruent expectations about the helping relationship, lack of understanding of social forces, ethnocentric worldview, ignorance of one’s own racist attitudes and prejudices,

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inability to understand cultural differences in the expression of symptomatology, unreliability of assessment and research instruments, and institutional racism.

Two definitions of culturally competent helping including one that suggests it is “a consistent readiness to identify the cultural dimensions of clients’ lives and a subsequent integration of culture into counseling work” and a second that states it is important for the human service professional to look at three client identities (individual, group, and universal) and to develop culture specific and universal strategies and roles as he or she works toward treatment goals is presented to students.

Four different models for developing cultural competence, including the multicultural counseling competencies (focusing on attitudes and beliefs, knowledge, and skills) are explained. One model of social justice work, the Advocacy Competencies, which encompass three domains: the client, community, and public is explained showing each of these domains are divided into two levels which includes a focus on whether the helper is “acting on behalf” of the domain “or acting with” the domain. This discussion concludes with the Tripartite model of personal identity, and then the RESPECFUL model.

The culturally competent helper is familiar with a wide range of diversity issues and understands basic definitions of words and terms, which give a common framework within which to communicate. Thus, basic definitions of the following are offered: culture; prejudice, stereotypes, and racism; discrimination and microaggressions; ethnicity; minority and nondominant group; power differentials; race; religion and spirituality; sexism, heterosexism, and sexual prejudice; sexual orientation; and social class (“class”). The author concludes this section with a short piece about political correctness relative to when one should use which words and terms. Students may find the words in italics under “Political Correctness, or Oh my God, What Do I Call Him or Her?” particularly interesting.

Finally the chapter concludes highlighting various aspects of the human service professional’s ethical code which speaks to culturally competent helping and then note that becoming a culturally competent helper is a process that encompasses four stages: the affective/impulsive stage, the dualistic rational stage, the liberal stage, and the principled stage.

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