Jean Piaget and Erik Erikson are two prominent psychologists in the field of human growth and development. Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development and Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development provide a background for understanding the developmental context of clients. Life-span development theory states that individuals continue to develop from infancy to late adulthood. Therefore, it is important to recognize that each client is in a particular stage of development. For example, if you are working with a 9-year-old client and an 80-year-old client, their current stages of emotional, physical, social, spiritual, and cognitive development would be vastly different. This understanding of the developmental context of your clients is foundational for client conceptualization and choosing appropriate intervention methods.
A client’s cultural background is also critically important. Where your client was born and raised, the cultural beliefs and religious convictions of the client’s family, and the different cultures and beliefs of the communities where the client lived is also fundamental to understanding your client and determining appropriate intervention methods.
While you must be aware of your client’s developmental and socio-cultural context, it is just as important to be aware of your own, with its biases and beliefs, so that your client conceptualization is not influenced by a lack of self-awareness. Participating in self-assessment can help counselors gain an understanding of who they are, what they believe, and how to separate personal biases from the counseling process.
For this Journal Assignment, you will assess your multicultural awareness and cultural competence, and consider the importance of multicultural awareness and cultural competence to the practice of clinical mental health counseling.
Due to the somewhat abstract topic of this Assignment, you are asked to present your thoughts as a reflective journal entry. Regular reflection through journaling is a common practice for counselors, and both counseling students and professionals find the practice helpful to their self-awareness and professional growth (Woodbridge & Rust O’Beirne, 2017).
Assignment: Journal Entry (3-4 pages)
Use the Multicultural Awareness Journal Template to create your journal entry. In your journal entry, include the following:
Summaries and reactions to the self-assessment results and reflection processSummarize the results of your Multicultural Self-Assessment.Identify which Harvard Implicit Bias self-assessments you took and summarize the resultsExplain how your results might make sense in light of the cultural influences in your life and/or your life experiences. Reflections on being “otherBased on the media for this week, briefly tell the story of the first time you realized you were “other.”Discuss your reactions to your realization of being “other.”Explain how your developmental stage impacted your experience of “otherness.”Implications for personal development and professional practiceDescribe perceived gaps in cultural competency and actions you plan to take as a result of the self-assessment and reflection process.Explain the importance of multicultural awareness and cultural competency to the practice of clinical mental health counseling. 1
Journal: Multicultural Awareness
[Insert Student Name Here]
School of Counseling and Human Services, Walden University
[Insert Course number here]: Introduction to Clinical Mental Health Counseling
[Insert Instructor Name Here]
[Insert Due Date Here]
2
Journal: Multicultural Awareness
Introduce the topic of this paper here in one brief paragraph (3 or 4 sentences).
Multicultural Self-Assessment
After taking the Multicultural Self-Assessment, discuss your results under this heading.
Discuss your reactions to the assessment: What surprised you? What did you learn? And so on…
First Time I Realized I Was “Other”
Here you will explain the time you first realized that you were different from others.
Influence of Developmental Stage on Experience of “Otherness”
How was your experience of “otherness” influenced by your developmental stage at the
time you experienced it?
Action Plan as a Result of the Self-Assessment
After considering the self-assessment and reviewing the text, explain how you plan to
work on this important topic in your own life.
Importance of Multicultural Awareness and Cultural Competency
Under this heading, explain the importance of multicultural awareness and cultural
competency to you as a counselor-in-training. Be sure to cite scholarly references.
3
References
Erford, B. T. (2018). Human development throughout the lifespan. In B. T. Erford (Ed.),
Orientation to the counseling profession: Advocacy, ethics, and essential professional
foundations (pp. 311–336). Pearson Education.
Gray, G. M. (2018). Multicultural counseling. In B. T. Erford (Ed.), Orientation to the
counseling profession: Advocacy, ethics, and essential professional foundations (pp.
337–372). Pearson Education.
Laureate Education (Producer). (2010). Cultural competence: The first time I knew I was other
[Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author. Retrieved from http://mym.cdn.laureatemedia.com/2dett4d/Walden/COUN/6100/04/mm/coun6100_carousel.html
Petrone, M. C. (2004). Multicultural self-assessment. In M. D. Cox & L. Richlin (Eds.), Building
faculty learning communities (pp. 122–123). John Wiley & Sons.
Add additional references as needed.
MULTICULTURAL SELF-ASSESSMENT**
Part I. Using the continuum below, please identify your response to each of the following statements.
Write the number that corresponds to your response in the blank preceding each question. In order for
this inventory to be useful, it is important that you answer as you believe you truly are.
5 almost always
4 more often than not
3 sometimes
2 not usually
1 seldom, if ever
____ 1. I am comfortable interacting with others who are not my age, gender, race,
religion, economic status, sexual orientation, or at my educational level.
5
4
3
2
1
____ 2. I am mindful of my speech and behavior in an effort to avoid offending
others.
5
4
3
2
1
____ 3. I recognize the unique influence that my upbringing and education have had
on my values and beliefs.
5
4
3
2
1
____ 4. I ask questions until I am sure I understand what others are saying.
5
4
3
2
1
____ 5.
5
4
3
2
1
____ 6. When I need assistance, I am comfortable asking for it.
5
4
3
2
1
____ 7. I listen with interest to those whose ideas differ from mine.
5
4
3
2
1
____ 8. If I were at an event with people who differed from me, I would make
every effort to talk with them.
5
4
3
2
1
____ 9. I make a conscious effort to recognize when I stereotype.
5
4
3
2
1
____10. I like hearing all sides of an issue before making a decision.
5
4
3
2
1
____11. I adapt well to change and new situations.
5
4
3
2
1
____12. I enjoy “people watching” and try to understand the human dynamics
in interactions.
5
4
3
2
1
____13. I can readily identify the personal biases I have toward others.
5
4
3
2
1
____14. People are generally good and I accept them as they are.
5
4
3
2
1
____15. I try not to assume anything.
5
4
3
2
1
I am attentive to others’ reactions when I am speaking to them.
Part II. Now look back at your responses in the context of your classroom interactions. Is your behavior
different in that setting than in your day-to-day encounters?
** M. C. Petrone, “Supporting Diversity with Faculty Learning Communities: Teaching and Learning Across
Boundaries,” in Building Faculty Learning Communities, M. D. Cox and L. Richlin (eds): Josey-Bass, San
Francisco, pp. 122-123.
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