When reading this
article, it reminded me of my Multicultural Counseling course and the idea of
being culturally competent. The article
discusses the need for insight into cultural contexts to help develop
competence as a therapist. As therapists
we should always want to learn about our client’s culture so we are not being
biased or operating off of stereotypes. The
authors also state that members of an individual’s own group are viewed more
positively than those outside their group (Byars-Winston & Fouad, 2006). As a person, I can say that I tend to
associate more with my own race. I think
it is within my comfort zone and what feels natural to me. It makes sense that our own group would be
viewed more positively because that is what we know and have grown up
with. These ideas provide food for
thought as I am developing my skills and knowledge as a therapist.
Additionally,
it made a lot of sense to me when the article discusses evaluating one’s effectiveness
with clients. I think regardless of race
or cultural differences this should be done.
We, as therapists, should be reflecting on questions such as “Has my
intervention been effective?” and using these reflective questions as a method
to analyze our progress with treatment.
The article also discusses being open to other strategies and
suggestions that may be contradictory to previous clinical impressions (Byars-Winston & Fouad, 2006). I definitely agree that as a therapist I have
to be open to other possibilities and not always believe that my initial
impression is accurate. Being a
therapist means you must remain flexible and learn from clients as they share
their background and information with you.
There are no therapists that know everything, so learning is essential
in this profession. In essence, I agree
that cultural competence involves being open-minded, using self-reflection, and
gaining insight into a client’s cultural background.
Lastly, when
thinking about my own experiences, I didn’t realize how little diversity I
experienced growing up until I talked about it in my Multicultural Counseling class. I grew up in a small rural town with
primarily white students. There was a
total of about five minority students in my entire high school, and the only
interaction I had with another race was our foreign exchange student my senior
year of high school. It wasn’t until I
was in college that I experienced interaction with other races. I enjoyed learning about different cultures,
and I realized how little I know about other cultures and races. With that being said, I acknowledge that I am
still learning today, and I realize cultural competence is a process and does
not happen overnight.
References
Byars-Winston, A. M. & Fouad, N. A.
(2006). Metacognition and multicultural competence: Expanding the culturally
appropriate career counseling model. The Career Development
Quarterly, 54, 187-201.
No comments:
Post a Comment