S&CI ch 1: obstacles to developing cultural competence and humility

emotional self-revelations and fears: majority group members

• reactions of majority group toward content:

• anger, resentment

• authors are unjust, accusive and racist

• became defensive and rejective to book

• if these emotions remain: will prevent students from learning material

• culturally competent counselor: able to discuss emotions across cultures

• intense feelings often prevent multicultural understanding

• professional’s way of dealing with feelings: can enhance or impede self-understanding as: cultural being and diversity of clients.

• psychologist Dr. Mark Kiselica’s reaction: although considering himself culturally sensitive:reacted in anger and disgust.

• he self analyzed emotions and realized that: the text was right and unconsciously bought into racist stereotypes.

• well intentioned whites struggle with studying: racism, sexism, or heterosexism

• reasons: due to guilt of nations history and fear of being accused as racist

• avoiding racial topics helps maintain self-image

• marks honesty and openness is rare

  • willingness to share for understanding of: those seeking cultural competency, racism on a human level

emotional invalidation vs affirmation for marginalized group members:

• feeling validating honest and truthful

• minorities might feel dismissed or ignored

• when minorities bring up discrimination/bias: misread things, overly sesnsitive, unduly suspicious, or paranoid, they are crazy to think that

• equal reactions from minorities vs whites

• during topics of oppression are raised: mainly when discrimination/pain are minimized

• whites ignore racism, sexism, and homophobia

• due to discomfort felt by authorities

• well-intentioned whites avoid these painful stories

• quote: whites isolate each act of discrimination. results in lack of understanding to reactions

• whites ignore personal context of stimulus. negative historical impact on individual

acceptance of spirituality in life and emotional invalidation vs affirmation for marginzalied group members

whites unaware of minorities lived experiences

microaggressions: everyday putdowns to socially devalued groups, often by unaware, well-intentioned majority group

often experienced by minoritiy groups

lifetime of microaggressions become psychologically harmful

emotional invalidation vs affirmation for marginzalied group members

• day to day microaggression experiences in American Indians:

• important to note: emotional toll of friends racial remarks

• constantly proving legitimacy as a professional

  • people retold stories of following assumptions: being poor, addicted to drugs/alcohol. being lazy, poor, or dirty

  • microaggressions: receiving poor service and getting overcharged

  • result in hurt, anger, and distancing from non-natives.

  • minorities are resiliant in used acts of microaggression to educate

temotional invalidation vs affirmation for marginalized group members

covering microaggressions in class helps validation

expressed worldview that is often ignored (graduate level)

found great comfort and solace

a word of cautiion

• minorities/marginalized students:

• - often dispute/out speak white classmates

• might delight in white classmates squirming

• might take out anger on classmates

• less about aiding understanding

• more-over, having them feel similar pain

• expressing anger can be healing

• verbal abuse is counterproductive toward respect

• enemies are not white americans

• enemis are white supremacy

• enemies are not white western society

• enemirs are racism and ethnocentrism

• due to book discussing multicultural issues, some minorities assume training is for white students only, they know material and are experts

• such perspective prevents self-exploration on subject

• might create a form of resistance

• POC not immunue from prejudice, bias, and discrimination

• such belief prevents exploration of: interracial misunderstanding and biases

• interethnic misunderstandings and biases

• muliticultural training: more than simply ethnciitiy education

• includes a combo of social identities: race, cultre, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation/identitysocial identities include everyone

• not limitied to minorities

recognzing and understanding resistance to multicultural training

• colunselors/therapists may encounter avoidant clients:

• behaviors that obstruct therapeutic process

• behaviors that sabotage positive change

• change of topic during unpleasant memories

• externalizing blame for own failings

• not acknowledging angry feelings toward family

• chronically tardy for sessions

• avoidance is often characterized as: unconscious maneauvers to avoid personal insights

• avoidance to personal responsibility

• avoidance of painful feelings

• tardiness may represent anger towards therapists

• goal of multicultural training —> cultural competence

• trainees must be aware of: own worldview, assumptions of human behavior. misinformation/lack of knowledge

• most importantly, biases and prejudices

cogntive resistance-denial

• when minorities describe discrimination stories:

• belief of racism being in past

• minorities are seen as exaggerating/misperceivingwhite students use silence to conceal thoughts

• trainees use mechanisms to avoid topics

emotional resistance

blocks a trainees ability to: acknowledge, understnad, make meaning

from powerful feelings associated with diversity

behavioral resistance

feeling helplessdue to broad issue

what good would it do?

excuse or rationalization for inaction

excuse to escape responsibility toward action

strategies help provide awareness/personal growth

cultural competence and emotions

• emotions experienced by cultural competent students:

• sadness, disappointment, humiliation, blame, and invalidation

• leads to avoidance of honest discussions

  • allowing for emotions helps achieve understanding

implications for clinical practice

• listen and be open to disempowered

• do not negate voices becoming defensive

• no one is free from society’s biases

• understand and scknowledge personal emotions

• understand benelfits of past and present

• multicultural training requires experiential reality

• be open to exploring self as: racial, ethnic, cultural

• engage in open dialogue

  • continue to learn about self

summary:

multicultural counseling students: both pos and neg emotions affect ability to learn diversity issues

minorities often feel validation of content

majority groups feel range of emotions: defensiveness, anxiety, anger, and guilt

important to acknowledge emotions

important to explore and understand self-worldview bias

understand worldview/social identity of others

recognize personal resistance to material

relevations may be disurbing courage to continue is necessay

understnading hidden meanings of resistance

trainees: comfort own fears and discomfort

trainers: understanding trainee resistance;use strategies