Counselor Biases Flashcards
What is the definition of a bias?
A tendency to favour one explanation, opinion, or understanding over another perspective that is potentially equally valid
How do people express their biases?
- Stereotyping
- Calling people names
- Posting negative comments on social media
- Vandalizing religious decorations
- Not hiring someone because of their age or gender
Why do counselors need to be cautious of their bias?
- Counselors vulnerability to inferential bias during the counseling process may result in misdiagnosis and improper interventions
- -> Personal biases are a major obstacle in the decision making process
What are the three reasons why counselors should figure out their biases?
1) Each of us has baggage, and it influences our lives
2) In a counselling setting, we will have clients with different beliefs
3) Identifying our biases will enable us to provide our clients with a non–judgemental environment
What does research show about bias?
That despite our best intentions, we make assumptions, judgement about others based on preconceptions and we don’t even know we are doing it
What are common biases to encounter as a counselor?
- Cultural, political and religious bias
- Weight bias
- Socioeconomic status bias
What is the definition of cultural, political and religious bias?
The phenomenon of interpreting and judging a phenomena by standards inherent to one’s won culture. The phenomenon is sometimes considered a problem central to social and human sciences
What are two factors in reducing cultural bias?
- Know your clients/patients
- Cultural competence
What is cultural competence?
- Valuing diversity
- Identifying areas of prejudice and biases
- Adapting to the changing culture of clients/patients
- Use of non-verbal communication skill
- Listen and speak effectively
What are three ways to shorten the cultural difference?
- Don’t pass judgement, but build on peoples food and nutrition practices by emphasizing the positive aspects of the food they eat
- try to use educational material that depict the ethnicity of the clients and patients you are working with
- Inquire about you client’s and patient’s beliefs in the role of religion in health outcomes
What is weight bias according to PEN?
Having a negative attitude towards and beliefs about others based on their weight, shape and/or size
What is weight bias according to obesity Canada?
Refers to attitudes and views about obesity and people with obesity
What can biases lead to?
Can be perpetuated by stereotypes and/or judgements which can lead to weight-stigma and discrimination –> Can lead to a negative impact on health outcomes, and ultimately a person’s social identity
What are some sources of weight bias?
- Employment settings
- Media
- Educational settings
- Interpersonal relationships
- Healthcare settings
What are 5 factors which contribute to weight stigma?
- Individual responsibility of body weight
- Misinformation, outdated information about physiopathology of weight regulation
- Lack of trained professionals
- Media/weight-loss industry
- Using bMI as an individual indicator of health
What is the impact of weight bias on rapport/
- Demonstrate less emotional rapport
- Decreased healthcare provider respect
- Reluctant to perform some health screenings
- Decreased expectations of patient and increase aggressiveness towards the client/patient (blame)
What is the weight-bias cycle?
Unhealthy behaviours - Obesity –> health consequences –> Increased medical visits –> Biases in health care –> Negative feeling –> Avoidance of health care –> Poor self-care
What are the factors in reducing weight bias?
- Environmental
- Self awareness
- Communication
Ways to reduce environmental weight bias?
- Place scale in private area
- Provide wide-based, higher weight capacity chairs
- offer larger size or even thigh-sized blood pressure cuffs
- Have extra large gowns available
How can we increase self-awareness within the context of weight-stigma?
- Educate staff
- Be mindful of negative experiences the patient with obesity brings with them
- Focus on outcomes oh health and wellness, less on weight and shape
- Explore all the possibilities of causes and understand the complexity of obesity
How should we communicate to avoid weight stigma?
- Ask permission to talk about body weight
- Ask patient what their perspectives are of their body weight
- Refrain from sharing your own weight loss stories
What is weight-inclusive language?
- Weight
- Excess weight
- BMI
- Higher weight
- Larger bodied
What is the impact of socioeconomic bias and impact on counseling?
- Less inclined to work with poor clients, more likely to view them as having more serious disturbances than wealthier clients
- Not showing up for appt = resistance to tx? (May be due to clients lack of access to child care, transportation)
- Avoid providing recommendations that may not be feasible financially
What are five ways that we can decrease socioeconomic bias?
- Do not make assumptions about those in lower economic status
- Be self-aware when counseling and asking patients
- Put yourself in patients shoes
- Treat all equally
