The capacity to draw effectively upon culture knowledge, awareness, sensitivity, and skillful action in order to relate appropriately to, and work effectively with others from different cultural backgrounds (Sperry, 2012)
Cultural knowledge: Familiarity with facts about a clients ethnicity, social class, acculturation, religion, gender and age Cultural Awareness: The capacity to recognize a cultural issue in a specific client situation Cultural Sensitivity: The capacity to predict likely consequences of a particular cultural problem or issue and to respond empathically Cultural Action: Entails translating cultural sensitivity into action that results in an effective outcome (Sperry, 2012) Low Level High Level A low level of cultural competence is evident when an individual demonstrates deficits in knowledge, awareness, sensitivity, and skillful action; and is unable to perceive the need to apply them, or is unable to do so
A high level of cultural competence is evident when an individual knows, recognizes, respects, accepts, welcomes, and takes effective and appropriate skillful action, with regard to anothers culture
Cultural knowledge can be achieved by directly spending time with the members of the cultural group or by reading and talking about the cultural group, and viewing documentaries. Cultural awareness involves checking your personal thoughts, attitudes, and feelings about a culture; recognizing and anticipating likely consequences from these factors Cultural sensitivity can be gained through becoming aware of others worldview and based on gained understanding responding in an empathic, caring, or helpful manner; attitudes of respect, welcoming, and acceptance are seen Cultural action is responding with decisions and actions that foster the well-being of others The development of cultural competence is best understood as a spiral; development in one dimension fosters progress in the others
(Sperry, 2012) In our society the provider usually controls important aspects of the service relationship, the cross-cultural attitude of the provider sets the tone for the relationship Superiority: The provider considers the clients culture inferior and tries to impose her values and worldview Incapacity: The provider acknowledges differences but has no skills or tools to address them effectively and proceeds with an intervention based on dominant cultural values Universality: The provider considers that all humans share basic values and treats all people alike, regardless of their differences. Sensitivity: The provider acknowledges differences and tries to address them by adopting formal cultural expressions Competence: The provider identifies, respects, incorporates and maintains the values of the client in the design, delivery and evaluation of the service. (National AIA, 199) Resistance: Clients refuse to participate in services, are unresponsive, passive or hostile Accommodation: Clients reject their native culture and attempt to adopt the values, attitudes and behaviors they perceive to be dominant Adaptation: Clients maintain their values, attitudes, and behaviors, adapting them to new circumstances, while simultaneously adopting skills and strategies that allow them to function effectively in the dominant culture (National AIA, 1996) Service is client centered The provider listens actively The provider elicits the clients worldview The provider acknowledges the differences and similarities The provider recommends approaches congruent with the clients values and negotiates their implementation or adaptation In the LIVE and LEARN model each letter of the models name corresponds with an attitude, strategy, or activity that service providers can implement to nurture positive interactions with culturally diverse clients Like-if the provider does not have a genuine liking for diverse families and their cultural origins, no amount of skill development will make a difference Inquire-providers that habitually work with certain populations have a responsibility to familiarize themselves with demographics, history, beliefs, family structures, and preferred forms of address of their clients Visit-adopting the attitude of a visitor when interacting with persons from other cultures is a strategy that allows us easier access into the clients world Experience-Consciously put yourself in situations in which your culture is not dominant and establish peer relationships with persons from other cultures (National AIA, 1996) Listen-listen attentively for content and style, in many cultures people tend to personal communication by referring to experiences, interest and feelings Evaluate-determine specific beliefs, values, and attitudes to which clients subscribe; thus avoiding stereotypes Acknowledge-acknowledge cultural similarities and differences, particularly those that may arise in the service relationship Recommend-approaches to solve issues; ask which approach seems to make most sense to them Negotiate-which option(s) to solve issues will be put into practice (National AIA, 1996) Organizational context is seen to be very influential in determining how effectively service providers worked with clients from diverse backgrounds Barriers sighted by workers: Deadlines and time constraints were impediments to culturally competent practice How organizations prioritize tasks can work against the provision of culturally responsive care Problems and costs in securing appropriate interpreter services for a client Access to and knowledge of services for diverse cultures Bureaucratic barriers where policy often gets lost in large organizations (Harrison & Turner, 2011)
One way to help us identify the countless factors which define an individuals uniqueness is by using the Diversity Wheel The diversity wheel lists factors which may influence values, behaviors, ideas, and interpretations of situations The user of the wheel can examine how each section on the wheel pertains to an individual The wheel allows us to gain greater understanding of the client or ourselves (National AIA, 1996) For each section ask:
What are my (or clients) significant experiences, beliefs, and emotional attachments in this area?
How do they effect how I (my client) view the world and how I (the client) interact with others?
In what ways might these experiences, beliefs, and emotional attachments play an unconscious role in how I (the client) perceive others?
(National AIA, 1996) Acknowledge cultural differences Know other cultures Identify and value differences Identify and avoid stereotypes Empathize with persons from other cultures Know self: deliberate ongoing self-discovery, assessing own cultural values and beliefs and their influence on interpersonal interactions Adapt rather than adopt: conscious attentiveness to own expectations that clients adopt culturally dominant values, beliefs and behaviors Acquire recovery skills: continual focus on recognizing, taking responsibility for and sensitively handling practice errors that occur during helping
(Beckett, Dungee, Cox, & Daly, 1997) Four Major Service Dimensions Increase service availability and access Assess problems in the social and cultural context Consider biopsychosocial problem levels Practice empowerment Consider Latino problem themes-immigration, acculturation, poverty, segregation, marginalization, breakdown of ethnic community Select culturally and socially acceptable interventions Family-centered services Community-based services Increase service accountability Involve minority clients and communities in the development, delivery, and evaluation of services (Organista, 2009) Thank you
References
Beckett, J. O. Dungee-Anderson, D., Cox, L., & Daly, A. (1997). African Americans and multicultural interventions. Smith College Studies in Social Work, 67(3), 540-563. doi: 10.1080/00377319709517506.
Harrison, G., & Turner, R. (2011). Being a culturally competent social worker: Making sense of a murky concept in practice. British Journal of Social Work, 41(2), 333-350. doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcq101.
Mistry, J., Jacobs, F., & Jacobs, L. (2009). Cultural relevance as program-to-community alignment. Journal of Community Psychology, 37(4), 487-504.
National AIA Resource Center, Childrens Bureau. (1996). Cultural sensitivity and diversity awareness: Bridging the gap between families and providers. Retrieved from http://aia.berkeley.edu/publications/the-source/
National AIA Resource Center, Childrens Bureau. (1996). The live and learn model for culturally competent family services. Retrieved from http://aia.berkeley.edu/publications/the-source/
Organista, K. C. (2009). New practice model for Latinos in need of social work services. Social Work, 54(4), 297-305.
Sperry, L. (2012). Cultural competence: A primer. Journal of Individual Psychology, 68(4) 310-320.