REQUIRED READING
· Sue, D. W., Rasheed, M. N., & Rasheed, J. M. (2016). Multicultural social work practice: A competency-based approach to diversity and social justice (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
· Chapter 6,“Racial/Cultural Minority Identity Development”
· Chapter 7,“White Racial Identity Development”
· Chapter 14,“Culturally Competent Social Work Practice with African Americans” (pp. 407–412)
Post your response to the following:
· Explain how you might address race when working with an African American client.
· If you are African American, respond from your perspective of sharing the race of your client.
· How might the ways in which you perceive, understand, or experience race affect your work with an African American client?
Respond to two colleagues:
· Explain how race affects access to services.
· Describe one social work skill that a colleague could use when working with diverse racial groups.
RESPONSE1
When working with an African American client, a social worker should be aware of racial/ethnic identity development and demonstrate an awareness and understanding of the possibility of tensions and conflicts (Sue et al., 2016). One of the most important things to remember when working with African American clients is to display cultural sensitivity and acknowledge that race or culture may play a role in the client’s problem that led them to seek help (Sue et al., 2016). It is essential for a social worker not to ignore culture and race and be a culture-blind professional (Sue et al., 2016).I am a 35-year-old white woman raised in a prominently white town. I was someone who was sheltered from the disparities that others faced. Over the past five years, I have worked with many diverse groups. This experience made me more competent and culturally sensitive when working with African Americans. Through education and surrounding myself with diverse populations, I can see the issues of racism, discrimination, and privilege. I want to become better informed, educated, and culturally competent to help clients of different races and ethnic backgrounds best. If I remain teachable, continue my education to become culturally competent, and live the NASW code of ethics; I will not have many issues with helping African Americans or other races and cultures.
References
Sue, D. W., Rasheed, M. N., & Rasheed, J. M. (2016). Multicultural social work practice: A competency based approach to diversity and social justice (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
RESPONSE2
Explain how you might address race when working with an African American client.
The social worker needs to be willing to foresee and handle the potential mistrust that may be present among African American clients. It may show to be an effective form of therapy to establish a secure setting in which people who are sensitive to concerns pertaining to race can talk about those difficulties. It may be necessary for the social worker to intervene at the institutional level if the difficulty that a client is facing is the result of discriminatory practices that are being carried out by an institution. In other instances, the social worker might be required to investigate how the African American client reacted to the problematic circumstance by considering the client’s actual circumstances. The intersectionality of persons of African descent is characterized by several key characteristics, including race-based oppression, the crises of institutionalized racism, and racial trauma. This phrase encapsulates the mental toll that people of color endure on a daily basis as they attempt to deflect racial slurs, stereotypes, and discrimination in the course of their interactions with others. The cumulative and debilitating effect of constantly being on alert against attacks on or because of one’s socially constructed racial category is referred to as racial combat fatigue. When providing counseling to a client who is coping with circumstances in which racism plays a part, the social worker has a responsibility to assist the client in developing a wider variety of techniques and options that have the potential to be more successful. When doing so, it is of the utmost importance that the social worker does not have or represent a “blame the victim” attitude in any way (Sue et al., 2016).
If you are African American, respond from your perspective of sharing the race of your client.
As an African American woman, I believe it is our responsibility as social workers to comprehend the significance of the concept of intersectionality and its influence on the people we assist. It is a crucial step in the process of establishing social work effectiveness to acquire an understanding of the fundamental ideas of historical and complex crises and trauma. This applies to people of African descent as well as those of any other descent who present themselves for counseling.
How might the ways in which you perceive, understand, or experience race affect your work with an African American client?
The ability to demonstrate cultural sensitivity is the quality that is most essential while working with African American customers (Sue et al., 2016). A culturally sensitive social is believed to have a higher level of competence than a culturally blind professional. when it comes to dealing with the challenges that are presented. When working with people of African descent, it is essential for counselors to recognize racism and oppressive institutions that play a role in determining clients’ traumatic experiences as well as their reactions to trauma. This is necessary in order to establish a therapeutic relationship. When utilized in the present moment of psychological or behavioral harm in the individual or in the therapeutic relationship, interventions such as the invitation to repair are at their most successful (Goldberg et al., 2013). This is also true for the therapeutic relationship. It has been demonstrated that humanistic counseling approaches, which include the validation and application of pertinent spiritual or religious practices, are helpful in working with people of African origin.
References
Goldberg, S. B., Davis, J. M., & Hoyt, W. T. (2013). The role of therapeutic alliance in mindfulness interventions: therapeutic alliance in mindfulness training for smokers. Journal of clinical psychology, 69(9), 936–950. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.21973
Sue, D. W., Rasheed, M. N., & Rasheed, J. M. (2016). Multicultural social work practice: A competency based approach to diversity and social justice (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
