Becoming Culturally Competent in Social Work Practice School

Becoming Culturally Competent in Social Work Practice School of Social Work University of Central Florida

Defining Cultural Competence in Social Work Practice The NASW Code of Ethics (1999, 2008) establishes the attainment of cultural competence as an ethical mandate for the social work profession. According to the Standards for cultural competence in Social Work Practice, cultural competence is defined as: the process by which individuals and systems respond respectfully and effectively to people of all culture, languages, classes, races, ethnic backgrounds, religions, and other diversity factors in a manner that recognizes, affirms, and values the work with individuals, families, and communities and protects and preserves the dignity of each. (NASW, 2001, p. 11)

NASW Ethical Principals and Values Service Social Justice Dignity and Worth of the Person Importance of Human Relationships Integrity Competence

Four Components of Cultural Competence: Competency #1: Becoming aware of one’s own values, biases, and assumptions about human behavior Competency #2: Understanding the worldviews of culturally diverse clients Competency #3: Developing appropriate intervention strategies and techniques Competency #4: Understanding how organizational and institutional forces may enhance or diminish cultural competence

Multidimensional Model of Cultural Competence in Social Work Dimension I: Group-Specific Worldviews Dimension II: Components of Cultural Competence Dimension III: Foci of Cultural Competence

Dimension I: Group-Specific Worldviews Consider the worldviews of all cultural groups along the lines of: Age Race/ethnicity (African Americans, Asian Americans, Latino/Hispanic, Native Americans, European Americans etc. ) Gender (male, female, transgender, queer, nonbinary) Sexual orientation (Gays, Straights, Lesbians, Bisexuals, etc. ) Religious or spiritual preference Ability

Dimension II: Components of Cultural Competence Awareness Aware and sensitive to his/her own cultural heritage and to valuing and respecting differences Knowledge Of the history, experiences, cultural values, and lifestyles of sociodemographic groups in our society. Skills Possess a variety of skills and techniques sensitive to and respectful of his or her clients’ cultural experiences.

Dimension III: Foci of Cultural Competence Micro, Mezzo and Macro Levels of Intervention Intervene effectively: 1. 2. 3. 4. Individual Professional Organizational Societal levels

Intersectionality

Multicultural Social Work Practice Multicultural social work practice can be defined as both a helping role and a process that uses modalities and defines goals consistent with the life experiences and cultural values of clients; recognizes client identities as including individual, group and universal dimensions of existence; advocates for the use of universal and culture-specific strategies and roles in the healing process; and balances individualism and collectivism in assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of-and problem solving with clients and client systems (Sue, Rasheed & Rasheed, 2016)

Multicultural Social Work Practice 1. Helping Role and Process 2. Consistency with Life Experiences and Cultural Values 3. Individual, Group and Universal Dimensions of Existence 4. Universal and Culture-Specific Strategies 5. Individualism and Collectivism 6. Clients and Client Systems

Implications for Multicultural Social Work Practice 1. Recognize that cultural competence is an on-going professional development process. 2. Realize that you are a product of cultural conditioning, and that you have hot buttons and biases associated with culturally diverse groups in our society. Be aware of your triggers. 3. Cultural competence requires you to recognize and appreciate the strengths that exist in all cultures. 4. If you are planning to work with diverse clients in the world, you must take on roles other than that of clinical social worker. 5. Realize that organizational and social policies, practices, and structures may represent oppressive obstacles that prevent equal access and opportunity. 6. Use interventions that are consistent with the lifestyle and cultural systems of the client.

References National Association of Social Workers. (2008). Code of ethics. Retrieved from https: //www. socialworkers. org/pubs/code. asp Sue, D. W. , Rasheed, M. N. & Rasheed, J. M. (2016). Multicultural social work practice: A competency-based approached to diversity and social justice (2 nd ed. ). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley and Sons.