Creating Cultural Competence in Practitioners

By: SOPHIA F. DZIEGIELEWSKI

In terms of training professionals, graduate education and preparation to deal with multicultural issues is central to competent practice.

Regardless of the helping discipline, cultural competence training focusing on cultural awareness and the various ways professionals can respond, as well as taking into account their preconceived notions, can lead to improvement in the diagnostic process and subsequent treatment (Qureshi, Collazos, Ramos, & Casas, 2008).

If mental health practitioners are truly committed to enhancing the lives of people—as individuals, groups, families, and communities— they must also be committed to enabling clients to maximize their capabilities as full and effective participants in society. If there is a spiritual aspect of human life, and it is interrelated with other aspects of life, practitioners need to be trained to take this into account to help clients reach their goals and potential.

Although many practitioners may accurately assess relevant cultural, religious, or spiritual issues, they may not understand the relevance of a client’s spiritual beliefs, values, and perceptions. What a client believes can influence the way he or she responds, and these behaviors may be inseparable from the environmental system. Without specific education, professional training, and preparation in this area,mental health practitioners are just as ill equipped to practice as they are to deal with policy issues or other types of psychological or culturally related problems.

Mental health practitioners need to be aware of their own strengths and limitations and remain active in seeking education to prepare themselves to deal effectively with cultural, spiritual, and/or religious issues in the lives of their clients.

CREATING CULTURAL COMPETENCE

1.       Value diversity in all individuals and the strengths that can be found in differences.

2.       Seek out experiences and training that will facilitate understanding the needs of diverse populations.

3.       Conduct a cultural self-assessment, identifying one’s own values, beliefs, and views.

4.       Be sure to include aspects of cultural identity, as self-reported and self-identified by the client, and the influences it can or does not have on the diagnostic assessment.

5.       Become aware of the limits of one’s areas of competence and expertise. If the problem behavior(s) the client is experiencing is beyond the understanding of the practitioner, it is up to the practitioner to seek ethnic group consultation or to make referrals to more appropriate services or helping professionals.

References

SOPHIA F. DZIEGIELEWSK, 2015, DSM-5TM in Action, by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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