CONCEPT OF MULTICULTURAL PRACTICE Flashcards
Explain Etic perspective
Etic perspective is defined as an external or outsider’s view on beliefs and customs. View clients as “culturally universal”.
Explain Emic perspective
Emic perspective can be defined as an insider’s view or subjective interpretation from members of the group about their own customs and beliefs. View clients as “culturally specific”.
What is the concept of culturally universal, and what is culturally specific?
Relate to universal strategies interventions (interventions that apply to all cultures) and cultural specific strategies (interventions specific to culture).
Explain Universal and cultural-specific strategies in Multicultural Social Work Practice.
How does this relate to cultural competency?
(Under multi-cultural social work)
As a social service practitioner in a multicultural society, practitioner should consider appropriate intervention strategies that meet the needs of clients. It advocates that if the source, process, and manifestation of disorders seen are similar across cultures were evident and consistent, then universal guidelines and strategies for treatment would appear to be appropriate. For example, when dealing with stress and anxiety, breathing technique could be used to calm client down.
On the other hand, however, multicultural practitioners give greater weight to how culture and life experiences affect the expression of problematic behaviour. Practitioners would then propose the use of culture-specific strategies in the helping the client. Culture-specific strategies take into account how individual view their issues. A person who believes that their sickness is the work of magic or supernatural, seeking medical help would not be considered as first choice or even postponed till they are ready to consider and accept this approach.
Explain Individualism and Collectivism in Multicultural Social Work Practice.
How does this relate to cultural competency?
MCSW practice broadens the perspective of the helping relationship by balancing the individualistic approach with a collective reality that acknowledges our “embedded-ness” in families, significant others, communities, and cultures.
A client is perceived not just as an individual but also as an individual who is a product of his or her social and cultural context. The ecological perspective is very important here. While the psychosocial unit is the individual in the U.S. culture, many culturally diverse groups have a more collectivistic orientation that defines identity as a constellation that may include the family, group, or community.
• Individualistic culture view individuals as independent and able to succeed by themselves. People in an individualistic society react well to messages that speak to individuality and personal achievement. Societies, such as the United States, embrace an individualistic culture based on the tenants of freedom, individualism, and self-reliance.
• A collectivist culture is one that’s based on valuing the needs of a group or a community over the individual. Kinship, family, and community are extremely important. People tend to work together to create harmony and group cohesion is extremely valued. Individuals in a collectivist culture are likely to value what is good for the whole over what is good for one person.
Typically, those who are part of a collectivist culture don’t believe that individuals are just separate units floating around in society. Instead, this type of culture prizes the notion that we are interdependent and part of a larger group. In collectivist cultures, one’s orientation is outward, toward the group, rather than inwards to himself.
No matter what our general inclination in our culture (individualism or collectivism); we are all a mixture of both. But in general, we lean more towards one than the other.
Explain Client and clients systems in Multicultural Social Work Practice.
How does this relate to cultural competency?
(SCA-Advocacy role of counselor, systemic interventions)
MCSW practice assumes a dual focus in helping clients.
In many cases, for example, it is important to focus on individual clients and encourage them to achieve insights and learn new functional and adaptive behaviours.
However, when problems encountered by women, gays/lesbians, racial minorities, and the elderly reside in prejudice, discrimination, and in racism/sexism/ ageism/heterosexism of employers, educators, and neighbours, or in organizational policies or practices in schools, mental health agencies, government, business, and society, the traditional therapeutic role appears ineffective and inappropriate.
The focus for change must shift to altering client systems rather than individual clients alone (D. W. Sue & Sue, 2001; Vera & Speight, 2003). Indeed, while such a distinction may be made, social work has always defined clients as individuals, groups, families, communities, institutions, and larger social systems.
In all cases, the guiding principle is one of social justice: equal access and opportunities for all groups. This is made abundantly clear in the Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers when it states: “Social workers promote social justice and social change with and on behalf of clients. Client is used inclusively to refer to individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities” (NASW, 2001).
