The Social and Cultural Diversity - Report Example

The Social and Cultural Diversity Paper: Final Paper Alyssa Stephenson PCN-509 Social and Cultural Diversity Issues in Counseling 11-12 Introduction The United States demography has been changing so fast over the resent past and integral to these changes is the dramatic increase to a diverse population. American population is diverse in number of ways ranging from culture, ethnicity, race, socioeconomic class, religion, gender and sexual orientation to language. This is a clear indication that any one preparing to take up a counseling job must fully appreciate and uphold each facet of diversity to allow them understand the complexity of human behavior. This is no small task considering that reading about other peoples’ culture only is not enough to fully become cultural competent. Individual helpers need to start by defining their cultural awareness and attitudes, reflection on personal biases and prejudice, and clear understanding racial discrimination. The professional helper must also consult American Counseling Association (ACA) and National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors (NAADAC) codes of ethics in order to address ethical issues that arise from cultural diversity effectively. This paper will seek to explore the personal history and personal biases of the writer, concepts of racism/discrimination and a review of ACA and NAADAC codes of ethics in addressing cultural bias. PART 1 Growing up I went to intercity grade school and high school here in Arizona. I went through St. Gregorys grade school from Kindergarten to 8th grade, This was a very tough grade school to attend because a large portion of the students came from different nationalities. Being a bicultural student of both Mexican American and White American descent it was somehow hard for me to fit in. As early as third grade, my peers were always curious about my identity and I would often be asked about my whether I was Mexican or White? They saw both my parents drop me off, and they knew I was both. It was undoubtedly tough to growing up with people especially my peers questioning my identity. As I got into High School, I attended St. Marys High School in Arizona. I joined the cheer squad, while at high school and this certainly helped me actively engage in a number of school’s sporting events. As I grew up from kindergarten to college, the issue of cliques constantly cropped up, and it made it hard fitting in. I just stayed true to myself kept my grades up, and I loved being both cultures.  A significant number of recollections can be made concerning contact with people from different cultural background. Growing up in culturally diverse neighborhood ensured that contact with culturally different people was unavoidable. Going to the shop, restaurant, gym, swimming pool, and gas station owned and operated by people from a different cultural background created a sufficient environment for personal contacts. Going to school and sharing school infrastructure such as classrooms, theatres and library created a significant environment for contact with a wide pool culturally diverse people. Thanks to this career too, it has created a robust avenue for interact with culturally distinctive people during training programs. The much experiences associated with the difference in culture is the intense sense of racial and ethnic identity. According to Chu-Lien Chao (2012) majority of individuals are often faced with the challenge of trying to weight out how their inherent beliefs and values are distinct from their families and to what extent are they shared by a different group of people. For this reason individuals are often forced to align with others whom they share similar cultural elements and band against those with oppositional way of life. There is no doubt that life experience significant influences the way individuals related with people from different cultural background (Aspinall, 2009). An individual’s thinking and contact with people from other culture is highly influenced by their environment, family and friends. Family plays an integral role in shaping up how individuals appreciate their own personal values, beliefs and customs and those of other people they are different from. Growing up in culturally diverse neighborhood for instance plays a significant role in affecting how one relates to people of diverse culture mostly ethnic minorities who are in most cases subjected to ethnic biases and prejudice (Lee & Bean, 2004). Having being brought up in an environment where you tend to meet people from other cultures on most occasions helps an individual understand other people better than their peers who are brought up in single racially dominated neighborhood. The truth is that an individual brought up in culturally diverse environment will value the need for cultural integration as a key goal in the society to minimize and finally outdo challenges associated with prejudice and discrimination (Maxwell, 2011). This is because they tend to keep an open mind and allow it to operate free. In fact race and culture cannot be used by people who understand cultural diversity as a factor when selecting personal friends. There is no doubt that culture controls lives and defines reality to majority of individuals with or without their express permission. This fact could justify the reason as to why most of individuals’ personal biases revolve around cultural issues religion, ethnicity, race, beliefs, values, and or nationality (Powell, 2012). My personal biases revolve around belief on culturally different clients’ progress in the therapy session. The biases often sprout when I have to deal with clients of different gender, religion or ethnicity. For instance it is always my strong belief that female client will in most cases adhere to the treatment process compared to the male counterparts. My strict religious upbringing has also played a significant role in influencing my belief about particular individuals different from me. For instance I have always had biased opinion when dealing with individuals in the midst of serious social issues such as gay marriages, legalization of prostitution and abortion. It is obvious that biases interfere with almost every individual in manner that they seldom fully realize even in situations in which they are fully aware of and are willing to deal with. As a professional, personal biases can significantly affect your decision making choices as well as the consequent actions when dealing with a client (Singley & Sedlacek, 2009). In other words, the biggest challenge with personal biases for counseling professionals is the fact that it tends to diminish their ability to provide their clients with high quality service. Additionally biases can also prevent the counselor from offering genuine empathy and support to the client. PART 2 Subtle racism is mild form of racism that is hardly noticeable. Subtle racism unlike blatant racism which is direct and hot is distant, cool and indirect. Despite the strides taken to address racial relations there are still instances of racism that are hard to tell if you don’t pay great deal of attention. Most individuals irrespective of their race often suffer from some form of racial abuse in their daily interaction especially in diverse society but may not end up knowing it (Watkins, 2012). Subtle racism can be understood to be a form of innocent type of racism considering that at time it is done unknowingly. For instance, if a man broke into to store, it is often common to hear people asking here is he from with relation to his ethnicity-Hispanic American or African American. In reality the entire universe is interwoven with different forms of subtle racism and nobody likes to be a victim of such cases. Stubblefield & Bandow (2012) assert that what matters is the will of every individual to destabilize subtle racism as a bold step to make a better world for everyone. It is not strange to find members of particular ethnic group having significant difference in perception and values. The sole major reason behind this fact is the influences of other facets of social background. In other words social/cultural factors play a significant role in influencing an individual’s identity. For instance one’s language preference, generation, religion, sexual orientation or age may slightly interferes with his/her sense of belong to a particular ethnic group in terms of shared perception, feelings, values , behavior and thinking (Diller, 2011). It is natural for people to start questioning their values, feelings and perceptions against those of other groups with a view to gain ethnic awareness. It is through this self-evaluation that an individual develops perception and values different to that of their ethnic inclination. For instance, a few members of an ethnic group with conservative opinion about social issues such as polygamy, abortion and or gay marriages may still have a different opinion and perception from that of the entire ethnic group. PART 3 American Counseling Association (ACA) and National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors (NAADAC) codes of ethics are of great significance to professional counselor. These codes of ethics are vital in governing the conduct of the counselors leading to well informed clinical decision about client treatment and recovery process. In other words the Codes acts as an ethical guide to help the counselor come up with a professional course of action that will serve best the interest of those consuming the c counseling services. The Codes assist the counselor in addressing issues pertaining to cultural diversity in order to ensure quality of service. The Codes stresses on the need to maintain cultural awareness and sensitivity with respect to clients’ rights and privileges. Addressing cultural concern is significant requirement for effective counseling session and as such the Codes help the professions make informed decision when dealing with diverse clients. Major sources of potential counselor cultural biases within the practice lies within the intersectionality which include bud not limited to language, age, race, gender, values and attitude, social strata, sexual orientation, and or religion (Watkins, 2012). In other words, core cross cultural issues are the major sources of counselor cultural biases. For instance, style of communication and mastery of the language is a sensitive cultural issue with great impact on the treatment outcome. Cultural sensitivity is the backbone of effective counseling therapy in the practice. This is because it enhances accuracy, of testing, diagnosis and assessment initiatives. Lack of cultural sensitive can lead to direct or subtle discrimination and thus mistrust between the client and the patient (Ivers, 2012). It is noteworthy that almost all patients appreciate treatment sessions were they feel comfortable in terms of values, autonomy, identity, customs and social preferences. This means it is vital that the counselor to take into consideration various cross cultural differences when planning for a session. This information helps to avoid cultural insensitivity, as this will lead to biasness and prejudice. Every cultural group has its own unique way of communication both verbally and nonverbally communication. Key among the differences in communication between different cultures is evident in pronunciation of words, physical contact, personal space, eye contact, and mode of relaying bad and good news. It seems that every cultural group has some set of rules and principles governing their communication style particularly in relation to speaking, and listening (Treas & Carreon, 2010). For instance, there are certain cultures that emphasize more on listening than speaking and in most cases it affects particular age brackets. The need to build rapport with clients of different cultures is the main reason behind differential treatment methods. Counselors are trained to accept and uphold the presence of many viewpoints irrespective of whether they are correct or incorrect. This means that a different approach to treatment will often ensure that every perspective captures a distinctive but valid approach. However the ultimate goal is to enhance quality of service utilized by the client. A wide variety of resources are available to assist individuals in becoming more informed about cultural diversity key among them being cultural books, journals, videos, attending cultural events, and visiting museums. There are also different training programs for various cultures which an individual can join to familiarize herself with the unique cultures. Personal biases are certainly a tough challenge that one has to deal with effectively (Maxwell, 2011). The journey to address biases begins with rising above personal perspective in analyzing every event to global perspective appreciated by the diverse society. This is only attainable through constant personal awareness initiatives that involves clear understanding of personal beliefs, values, prejudices, perceptions and reactions and how they impact my interaction with other people particularly clients. Ivers (2012) elucidates that it is vital to know all the personal issue that may impact the way one interacts with the client before you find out how to prevent the issues from adversely interfering with the treatment process. Everything that has been learned from the social and cultural class can be applied to future practice as a counselor in a number of ways with the first one being relating effectively with culturally diverse clients. Cultural and social learning is highly important in providing culturally competent services that specifically respond to the unique needs and interests of the members of a cultural diverse population and above all maintaining cultural sensitivity in all counseling sessions (Singley & Sedlacek, 2009). References Aspinall, P. J. (2009). The Future of Ethnicity Classifications. Journal Of Ethnic & Migration Studies, 35(9), 1417-1435.  Chu-Lien Chao, R. (2012). Racial/Ethnic Identity, Gender-Role Attitudes, and Multicultural Counseling Competence: The role of multicultural counseling training. Journal Of Counseling & Development, 90(1), 35-44. Diller, J. (2011). Cultural Diversity: A Primer For The Human Services. 4th Ed. Ohio: Cengage Learning. Ivers, N. (2012). The Effect of Ethnicity on Multicultural Competence. Journal Of Professional Counseling: Practice, Theory & Research, 39(2), 40-52. Lee, J., & Bean, F. D. (2004). Americas Changing Color Lines: Immigration, Race/Ethnicity, and Multiracial Identification. Annual Review Of Sociology, 30(1), 221-242.  Maxwell, P. (2011). What were they Thinking: A Reflective Look at Students Attitude toward Ethnicity, Culture, and Diversity. Journal Of Multidisciplinary Research (1947-2900), 3(3), 39-46. Powell, S. (2012). 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