Module 1: Week 1: Cultural Identity Development
Overview
This module will introduce a variety of key multicultural concepts and will examine
racial/cultural identity development. The integration concept of applying a biblical worldview
lens to examining cultures will be considered.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this module, you will be able to:
Synthesize theories of racial/cultural identity development, multicultural counseling
theory, and social justice into a coherent personal counseling perspective.
Consider a biblical/theological perspective that promotes appreciation of diversity while
maintaining a distinctively Christian viewpoint.
Critique how culture and worldview assumptions influence clinical assessment, research
strategies, and interpretation of data.
Distinguish how diverse sexual orientation lifestyle perspectives and identity
development processes impact a client’s life.
Articulate essential basic multicultural counseling competencies.
Multicultural Counseling Competencies and the Christian
I. Multicultural Counseling Competencies
a. Counselor self-awareness
i. Need to be self aware of how our own assumptions and worldview and
cultural biases influence our attitude towards other cultures
b. Client worldview
i. Need to be aware of our client’s attitudes, assumptions, historical
background
ii. Knowing the clients values and beliefs is very important
c. Counseling relationship
i. Our understanding and our awareness of how my values, my assumptions,
my attitudes, my biases and the client’s worldview influences the
relationship
d. Counseling and advocacy interventions
i. Counseling interventions will go beyond working with the individual.
II. Practice the Greatest Commandments
a. Love God passionately (Matthew 22:36-40)
b. Love people genuinely (Matthew 22:36-40)
III. View Every Client from a Distinctive Biblical Anthropology
a. Created in the image of God with intrinsic worth (Genesis 1:26-27)
b. Someone for whom Christ died (2 Corinthians 5:15)
i. The Non-Christian = in need of redemption
ii. The Christian = in need of transformational growth (Romans 12:1-2)
IV. Be Incarnational
a. “Christ provides us with God’s model for ministry. In Christ, God became fully
human to save us. But, in doing so, He remained fully God (Philippians 2:5-8).
We, too, must identify ourselves with people without compromising our Christian
identity.”
V. Overcome Ethnocentrism
a. Recognize that there is no superior ethnic group/culture (1 Corinthians 12:13)
b. Accept that God does not show favoritism (Acts 10:34-35)
VI. Contextualize your Approach
a. Use culture-specific interventions
b. Be willing to adapt your approach to be relevant and effective in the client’s
cultural context.
Racial Cultural Identity Development
I. Racial/Cultural Identity Development
a. Especially useful when working with ethnic groups who have experienced much
racism
b. Authors to know: 1. W.E. Cross
c. Five Stages (not necessarily linear, can start in different stages)
i. Conformity
ii. Dissonance
iii. Resistance and immersion
iv. Introspection
v. Integrative Awareness/Synergetic Articulation & Awareness
II. Conformity Phase
a. Unequivocal preference for dominant cultural values over their own
i. Lifestyles, values, and cultural/physical characteristics most like the
majority culture are highly esteemed.
ii. Elements most like their own culture are viewed with disdain, conscious
or unconscious
iii. Acceptance or tolerance for negative stereotypes associated with their own
culture
III. Dissonance Phase
a. Gradual process
b. The ethnic person encounters experiences inconsistent with beliefs held in the
conformity stage
i. A same ethnic leader who is a positive model
ii. people in the community who are proud of their heritage
iii. an encounter of racism on a personal level
c. characterized by conflict between depreciating and appreciating attitudes and
beliefs for both the self and ethnic group
IV. Resistance & Immersion Phase
a. The ethnic person completely endorses own cultural values and rejects the
dominant culture’s values
i. In the U.S., a reaction against White middle class values
b. Greater understanding of social forces that have harmed the minorities culture
c. strong desire to eliminate oppression of own ethnic group
d. typical affects: guilt, shame, and anger
V. Introspection Phase, I
a. Transition from previous stage:
i. Reactive qualities of above create limited self-definition and a
psychologically draining state
ii. Need for a positive self-definition in a proactive sense emerges
iii. Increasing need for personal autonomy
1. Group views may be quite rigid, leading to discontentment
2. Some group views begin to conflict with individual views
a. Group pressures individual to conform and discard personal
views
VI. Introspection Phase, II
a. Introspection stage involves the evaluation of personal values vs group values &
allegiances
i. Reclaiming individuality in the group
ii. defining an autonomous self to participate in the group
iii. more nuanced perspective regarding the majority culture and one's own
ethnicity
1. beginning to see the positives and negatives of each culture
VII. Integrative Awareness/Synergetic Articulation Phase
a. Culmination of the group identification-individuation process
b. The ethnic person can value unique aspects of own culture as well as those in
majority culture
c. Awareness that there are strengths and weaknesses to all cultures
d. Selective appreciation
i. For both own culture and the majority culture
VIII. Implications
a. Whatever the race or cultural identity of the counselor, his/her stage of cultural
development will impact the counseling process
Initial Case Considerations in Multicultural Counseling
I. MC Counseling: Initial Interview Considerations I
a. At an appropriate point in the interview acknowledge your awareness of the
cultural difference
i. Keep in mind other dimensions of different cultural experience may exist
besides race
ii. Examples: Gender, SES status, etc.
b. Ask in a supportive way whether the client has any concerns or thoughts about
these differences
II. MC Counseling: Initial Interview Considerations II
a. If appropriate, validate the client’s sense of racial discrimination. Later in
treatment you will help him/her focus on ways to maximize personal
effectiveness. Don’t minimize this area.
b. Acculturation & second language assessment
III. General Case Considerations I
a. Learn from the client
b. Seek supervision & consultation as needed
c. Educate yourself from the literature
d. Consider referral if appropriate
i. If this is what the client prefers
ii. If you find yourself unable to work effectively with the client
IV. General Case Considerations II
a. Consider what is culturally normal when you assign a diagnosis
b. Interpret & use psychological tests with caution
c. Consider the client’s values and preferences in constructing a treatment plan
d. Consider culturally appropriate social/community supports available in your
community
Interpreting Culture
I. Stances in MC Literature
a. Emic
i. Empathic
ii. From their eyes
iii. Their cultural norms & practices
b. Etic
i. “outside looking in”
ii. Positive: universal commonalities
iii. Negative: our own cultural norms & values
II. Another Alternative
a. Biblical Worldview Lens
i. From God’s eyes
ii. A Biblical anthropology
iii. Truths from scripture
III. Biblical Worldview Lens I
a. How does God see this culture?
b. Biblical Anthropology
i. Psalm 8
ii. Imago Dei
1. Incredible potential for good
iii. The Fall
1. Incredible potential for evil
iv. Culture express both these aspects
IV. Biblical Worldview Lens II
a. Biblical Anthropology (cont.)
i. Common grace
ii. The cross
V. Biblical Worldview Lens III
a. Scriptural truths
i. Do elements of this culture approach God’s truth
1. The ten commandments (Exodus 20:1-17)
a. Commandments related to our neighbor
2. Honesty and integrity
3. The family
4. Sacredness of human life
b. Cultures vary on the degree to which they express core Biblical truths
VI. Biblical Worldview Lens IV
a. Where is God already working in this culture?
b. What can we learn from this culture?
c. How can we pray for people from this culture?
VII. Limitations in BWL Analysis
a. Our own
i. Cultural encapsulation
ii. Individual experiences/perceptions
iii. Fallenness
iv. Hermeneutic
v. Theology
b. Characteristic needed
i. Humility
VIII. Key Point
a. As you read about different cultural groups in this class, use the etic perspective
cautiously, keep in mind the value of the emic perspective, and consider the
importance of viewing cultures from a Biblical Worldview Lens
White Ethnic Identity Development
I. White Ethnic Identity Development I
a. Janet Helms, major researcher to know
b. Stages for Whites
i. Conformity phase
1. Unaware of white differences in daily experience compared to
people of other ethnicities
2. Can be conscious or unconscious
II. White Ethnic Identity Development II
a. Dissonance phase
b. Resistance & Immersion phase
i. Racism increasingly confronted
ii. Danger of paternalistic protector role or overidentification with another
ethnic group
III. White Ethnic Identity Development III
a. Introspective phase
i. Reduced defensiveness over being White
ii. Reduced motivation by guilt or anger
iii. Increasing autonomy
b. Integrative Awareness phase
i. Person recognizes how personal conduct and implicit support for systemic
barriers can perpetuate racism, but anger and guilt don’t fuel actions
ii. Genuine concern becomes the motivator
iii. Selective appreciation of White and ethnic cultures
IV. White Ethnic Identity Development IV
a. More work needed on White differences in experience
i. Having little sense of ethnic “differentness”
ii. Being fully accepted in the majority culture
iii. Growing up feeling empowered to work “the system” to get what they
need
iv. Some of the above explored in “White privilege” literature
1. White differential experiences a better term to produce genuine
dialog
V. Research Needed
a. The developmental sequence or a by-product of educational system diversity
awareness training?
i. Does this identical process occur outside such a context?
b. White people can become more sensitive outside the above context
i. What is this process like?
