Summary: <p>Improving Cultural Competence<br> SAMHSA TIP 59<br> Instructor: Dr. Dawn-Elise Snipes, PhD, LPC-MHSP, LMHC<br> Executive Director: AllCEUs.com Counselor education<br> Podcast Host: Counselor Toolbox, Happiness Isn’t Brain Surgery</p> <p>Objectives<br> ~ Define assumptions about cultural competence<br> ~ Define Race, Ethnicity and Culture<br> ~ Explore the problems with limited cultural competence<br> ~ Explore ways in which culture impacts<br> ~ Choice of therapeutic approaches and modalities<br> ~ Involvement of family<br> ~ Appropriateness of self-help and/or group counseling</p> <p>Assumptions<br> ~ Assumption 1: Counselors will not be able to sustain culturally responsive treatment without the organization's commitment to it.<br> ~ Assumption 2: An understanding of race, ethnicity, and culture (including one's own) is necessary to appreciate the diversity of human dynamics and to treat all clients effectively<br> ~ Assumption 3: Incorporating cultural competence into treatment improves therapeutic decision-making and offers alternate ways to define and plan a treatment<br> ~ Assumption 4: Consideration of culture is important at all levels of operation—individual, programmatic, and organizational<br> ~ Assumption 5: Culturally congruent interventions cannot be successfully applied when generated outside a community or without community participation.<br> ~ Assumption 6: Public advocacy of culturally responsive practices can increase trust among the community, agency, and staff.<br> Cultural Identification<br> ~ Not all clients identify with or desire to connect with their cultures<br> ~ Culturally responsive services offer clients a chance to explore the impact of culture, acculturation, discrimination, and bias, and how these impacts relate to or affect their mental and physical health.<br> ~ Stereotypes are endpoints in which a decision has been made<br> ~ Generalizations are beginning points from which to explore.<br> ~ The Affordable Care Act, (HHS 2011b) necessitates enhanced culturally responsive services and cultural competence among providers.<br> Problems with Limited Cultural Competence<br> ~ Limited cultural competence is a significant barrier that can translate to:<br> ~ Ineffective provider–consumer communication<br> ~ Delays in appropriate treatment and level of care<br> ~ Misdiagnosis<br> ~ Lower rates of treatment compliance<br> ~ Clients feeling misunderstood<br> ~ Clients feeling judged<br> ~ Clinicians making inappropriate treatment recommendations<br> ~ Poorer outcome<br> Culturally Responsive Practice<br> ~ Culturally responsive practice reminds counselors that a client's worldview shapes his or her:<br> ~ Perspectives (How things “should be,” What goals to strive for)<br> ~ Beliefs (ex. Just world, why things happen)<br> ~ Behaviors surrounding addictive behaviors (Alcohol, illicit drugs, sex, gambling, eating disorders)<br> ~ Beliefs about illness and health (East vs. West, God’s punishment vs Natural progression)<br> ~ Seeking help (Airing “dirty laundry,” participation in face to face vs virtual treatment, LEO/Military, elderly)<br> ~ Counseling expectations (LEO/Military, criminally involved)<br> ~ Communication (Openness, methods)<br> Continuum of Cultural Competence<br> ~ Stage 1. Cultural Destructiveness<br> ~ Organizational Level: At best, the behavioral health organization negates the relevance of culture in the delivery of behavioral health services.<br> ~ Individual Level: Counselors can also operate from this stance, holding a myopic view of “effective” treatment.<br> ~ Stage 2. Cultural Incapacity<br> ~ Organizational Level: Organizational culture may be biased, and clients may view them as oppressive. An agency functioning at cultural incapacity expects clients to conform to generalized services<br> ~ Individual Level: Counselors ignore the relevance of culture while using the dominant c</p>
