Understanding MulticulturalCompetence
“Jia never shows emotion, not even in the wake of a terrible loss.” What does the previous sentence lead you to infer about Jia? As a psychologist, how would you judge what is reported to be Jia’s lack of emotion? The level of multicultural competence you achieve as a psychologist might likely influence how you assess this scenario. How might Jia’s cultural background as depicted in the Threaded Family media piece affect your assessment of her behavior? Your understanding of multicultural competence and why it is important has a profound impact on your client relationships.
For this Discussion, review this week’s Learning Resources. Consider your understanding of multicultural competence coming into this course. Think about populations in your community and how you might demonstrate multicultural competence working with those populations.
With these thoughts in mind:
Post by Day 4 an explanation of your understanding of multicultural competence coming into this course. Be specific in your explanation by describing a multicultural population in your community and what it would mean to work with clients from that community and to demonstrate multicultural competence. Then explain what effect this week’s readings have had on your understanding of multicultural competence.
Zero plagiarizing, Quote work, No.coms
Readings
- American Psychological Association (2002). Guidelines on multicultural education, training, research, practice, and organizational change for psychologists. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/pi/oema/
resources/policy/multicultural -guidelines.aspx - Brown, S. D., & Lent, R. W. (Eds.). (2008). Handbook of counseling psychology (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
- Chapter 9, “Multicultural Competence in Counseling Psychology Practice and Training” (pp. 141–158)
- Cohen, A. B. (2009). Many forms of culture. American Psychologist, 64(3), 194–204.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases. - Comas-Díaz, L. (2010). On being a Latina healer: Voice, consciousness, and identity. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 47(2), 162–168.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases. - Gallardo, M. E., Johnson, J., Parham, T. A., & Carter, J. A. (2009). Ethics and multiculturalism: Advancing cultural and clinical responsiveness. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 40(5), 425–435.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases. - Pedersen, P. B., Crethar, H. C., & Carlson, J. (2008). Conclusion: Developing multicultural awareness, knowledge, and skill. In P. B. Pedersen, H. C. Crethar, J. Carlson (Eds.), Inclusive cultural empathy: Making relationships central in counseling and psychotherapy (1st ed.) (pp. 223–241). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases. - Document: Multicultural Population Research Paper Overview (Word document)
Note: You will use this document to complete your Multicultural Population Research Paper.
Media
- Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2011). Classroom demonstrations: Diversity profile activity [Video webcast]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Answer preview
A culture that is adopted by a certain group of people defines how those people do their things. Most regions in the world are multicultural because more than one culture can exist in the same region. This means that people are constantly interacting from one culture to the other. Also, during service provision, professionals must expect people from different cultures whose beliefs and values are different. Therefore, multicultural competence is important for everyone in order to interact with people in an effective manner.
I have understood multicultural competence as to be enriched with knowledge of defining, viewing, and researching on different cultures. This means that multicultural competent professionals can interact with any person in a region where culture is diverse. I am also aware that multicultural competence does not come naturally. To understand the norms and beliefs of other cultures, one has to learn about them. According to Cohen (2009), culture cannot be explained using a single definition. This is because culture exists in many forms depending on people’s behaviors, norms, values, and beliefs. Therefore, it is possible, as a psychologist,
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