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Respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words:

What are some considerations involved in adapting techniques to the needs of culturally diverse populations? How might you modify certain techniques to fit the needs of clients who are culturally different than you? 

Post 2 replies to classmates or your faculty member. Be constructive and professional a minimum of 175 words.

A.M.

When I am a group leader, some of the considerations that I use when working with such a culturally diverse population are when population am I working with such as children, adolescence, adults and older adults. To work effectively with diverse populations in a group context, group leaders must understand the subjective, as well as the objective, experience of group members (Tate, Rivera, Conwill, Miller, & Puig, 2013). To do this, they must make three modifications in the traditional ways of working in a group. First, they must understand what a culture is. A number of definitions of culture exist, but Sternberg (2004) gives one of the best in stating that culture is, “the set of attitudes, values, beliefs, and behaviors shared by a group of people, communicated from one generation to the next via language or some other means of communication” (p. 325). Because many different groups of people live in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and other pluralistic nations, most group work is multicultural in nature. I believe in being open with a non-judgmental attitude to all cultures with learning about them as I consider their language, belief's, heritage, spirituality, sexual orientation and any substance abuse the may have. In working with diverse groups that are culturally different than myself is easy. I have learned that in working in the mental and behavioral health field that we are individuals that are unique and with this, learning by listening to the member speak, learning from what they are saying, giving them the respect that they deserve and to let them know that we are all here for their own specific reasons. For example in my agency we have training about cultural competency that is different from us. I have learned to be prepare and to learn as much as I can about other cultures even about what is called cross-cultural. I never assume that my own cultural values, belief's and expectations are the same as other. Always be an unconditional group leader with no judgement and a very warm welcome.

References:

Sternberg, R. J. (2004). Culture and intelligence. American Psychologist, 59, 325–338.

Tate, K. A., Rivera, E. T., Conwill, W. L., Miller, M. D., & Puig, A. (2013). Conceptualizing group dynamics from our clients’ perspective: Development of the conceptualization of group dynamics inventory. Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 38, 146–168.

H.G.

Cultural diversity and social justice in therapeutic group settings has been a relativity new frontier in the psychology field. It is only recently that group professionals or associations have dealt with these two concepts in depth. For example, it was not until 1996 that the Association for Specialists in Group Work (ASGW) set up a task force to incorporate multicultural competencies into its standards. There are several areas of group work that could potentially be culturally diverse (Johnson, 2013). Some examples of such settings include but is not limited to: alcohol and other drug abuse recovery programs, groups conducted inside correctional facilities, postpartum therapy groups and career development and job training programs (Johnson et Al., 1995). To be able to effectively work with culturally diverse populations in a group setting, the group facilitator must "understand the subjective, as well as the objective, experience of group members" (Tate et. Al, 2013). In order to do so, the group leader may need to make three adjustments from the traditional ways of working in a group to adapt to the needs of culturally diverse population. The facilitator must first understand what a culture is. Sternberg (2004) gives one of the best in stating that culture is, “the set of attitudes, values, beliefs, and behaviors shared by a group of people, communicated from one generation to the next via language or some other means of communication” (p. 325). Second, group theory and technique must be adjusted and, “applied to different cultures in ways that are congruent with the beliefs and behaviors of those cultures” (DeLucia-Waack, 1996). Lastly, for group work to be multicultural and diverse, group theory and techniques must be developed that “acknowledge, explore, and use group member differences to facilitate change and growth” (DeLucia-Waack, 1996). Based on the literature, it appears that much of the responsibility to modify certain techniques to fit the needs of clients who are culturally different than other lays on the group leader. This makes me a bit uneasy to be honest, as I feel I have a long way to go in understanding cultural competence in relationship to group work. I understand now how such differences could be correlated to the different stages that a group may go through and the potential for cultural differences to come up as both conflict or as means to bring the group closer together. I am curious to hear my colleagues on this topic.

Resources:

DeLucia-Waack, J. L. (1996). Multicultural group counseling: Addressing diversity to facilitate universality and self-understanding. In J. L. DeLucia-Waack (Ed.), Multicultural counseling competencies: Implications for training and practice (pp. 157–195). Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.

Johnson, D. W. (2013). Reaching out: Interpersonal effectiveness and self-actualization (11th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Johnson, I. H., Torres, J. S., Coleman, V. D., & Smith, M. C. (1995). Issues and strategies in leading culturally diverse counseling group. Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 20, 143–150.

Sternberg, R. J. (2004). Culture and intelligence. American Psychologist, 59, 325–338.

Tate, K. A., Rivera, E. T., Conwill, W. L., Miller, M. D., & Puig, A. (2013). Conceptualizing group dynamics from our clients’ perspective: Development of the conceptualization of group dynamics inventory. Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 38, 146–168.