Cultural Humility: A Mindset

Cultural Humility

Healthcare professionals have, over the years, wrestled with determining the best way to become culturally competent. Knowledge is important, but Tervalon and Murray-Garcia (1998) suggest that achieving cultural humility is equally important.

The authors note that the standard of competence in clinical training as detached mastery of a finite body of knowledge may not be the best concept in the area of culture. Cultural humility is proposed as the best stance for learning about other cultures. Cultural humility includes lifelong learning, including evaluating and critiquing your own behavior. Power imbalances in the therapeutic relationship must be assessed and addressed to develop a non-paternalistic, mutually beneficial relationship that includes advocacy for both individuals and groups.

The National Association of Social Workers (2015) includes humility in its cultural standards. Social workers are expected to “demonstrate cultural humility and sensitivity to the dynamics of power and privilege in all areas of social work” (pg 4).

Cultural humility is defined as learning about a person’s culture and then communicating, offering help and sharing decision making, when working with people at the micro, mezzo and macro level. It is an “other-oriented” mindset that focuses on how the person’s social experiences affect their behavior.

The healthcare professional listens and learns, rather than taking an authoritarian stance. The person being served is, after all, the expert in the way their culture affects their lives. Empowerment flows from the validation of the person in their culture.

This is a lifelong process. Researchers have described the process as a constant state of “being-in-becoming.” A lifelong commitment to learning and becoming more and more competent in multicultural and social justice is required, as well as the willingness to apply cultural humility to your practice.

Course excerpt from:

Cultural Awareness in Clinical PracticeCultural Awareness in Clinical Practice is a 3-hour online continuing education (CE/CEU) course that provides the foundation for achieving cultural competence and diversity in healthcare settings.

Cultural competence, responding to diversity and inclusion, are important practices for healthcare professionals. This course will help you to gain an awareness of bias and provide strategies to adjust your clinical mindset and therapeutic approach to adapt to “the other” – people who differ in color, creed, sexual identification, socio-economic status, or other differences that make inclusion difficult.

Inclusion is defined as “the state of being included” or “the act of including,” which is something all clinicians should strive for. This course is designed to provoke thought about culture, diversity, and inclusion. Even though research for evidence-based practice is somewhat limited in this area, the concept of cultural competency (however it is defined and measured) is a key skill for healthcare professionals to create an inclusive therapeutic environment. Course #31-07 | 2018 | 57 pages | 20 posttest questions

Course Directions

Our online courses provide instant access to the course materials (PDF download) and CE test. Successful completion of the online CE test (80% required to pass, 3 chances to take) and course evaluation are required to earn a certificate of completion. Click here to learn more. Have a question? Contact us. We’re here to help!

Professional Development Resources is a nonprofit educational corporation 501(c)(3) organized in 1992. We are approved to sponsor continuing education by the American Psychological Association (APA); the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC); the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB); the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA); the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA); the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR); the Alabama State Board of Occupational Therapy; the Florida Boards of Social Work, Mental Health Counseling and Marriage and Family Therapy, Psychology & School Psychology, Dietetics & Nutrition, Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, and Occupational Therapy Practice; the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker & MFT Board and Board of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology; the South Carolina Board of Professional Counselors & MFTs; the Texas Board of Examiners of Marriage & Family Therapists and State Board of Social Worker Examiners; and are CE Broker compliant (all courses are reported within a few days of completion).

Target Audience: PsychologistsCounselorsSocial WorkersMarriage & Family Therapist (MFTs)Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs)Occupational Therapists (OTs)Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDNs)School Psychologists, and Teachers

Earn CE Wherever YOU Love to Be!

Addiction and Cultural Competence

Addiction and Cultural Competence –  A Looming Concern

Addiction, it has been said, is a condition that crosses all socioeconomic, gender, age, and cultural lines. The more we learn about addiction, the more it seems that anyone, from anywhere, regardless of their background, can fall prey – especially when we consider the wide range of substances that people can become addicted to.

And no longer are addictions exclusive to illegal drugs or alcohol. In fact, prescription medication addiction – one of the fastest growing categories of addiction – is becoming increasingly common. As addictive pain medications like oxycodone are prescribed with greater frequency and wider range, the reality is that more people from are being exposed to potentially very addictive medications.

With greater exposure to addictive pain medication a broader range of people are being exposed – and that means people from a variety of cultures.

The implication, as one study led by researchers at the Center for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), and published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry evidences, is that people of Chinese and South Asian cultures may experience more severe mental illness at the time of hospital admission that other patients (Chiu et al., 2016).

Another implication is that Asian tobacco companies are now poised to enter the global market, which is likely to mean more people smoking – and addicted to tobacco – nationwide (Lee et al., 2017).

With a wider range of cultures exposed to addictive substances – and having them directly marketed to them – the concept of cultural competence becomes increasingly important for those clinicians who treat addiction.

Knowing what is expected and considered appropriate for each culture is a critical competent of establishing rapport with patients from different cultures. For example, one study found that handshaking – a Western staple greeting – is viewed more positively by Westerners than East Asians (Katsumi et al., 2017).

It is these social norms, argue sociologists, that govern our lives by giving us implicit and explicit guidance on what to think and believe, how to behave, and how to interact with others. When following the social folkways, mores, taboos, and laws of those from another culture, we gain a feeling of trust from them – which in the clinical setting, is indispensable.

Related Online Continuing Education (CE) Courses:

Improving Cultural Competence in Substance Abuse TreatmentImproving Cultural Competence in Substance Abuse Treatment is a 4-hour online continuing education (CE) course that proposes strategies to engage clients of diverse racial and ethnic groups in treatment. Culture is a primary force in the creation of a person’s identity. Counselors who are culturally competent are better able to understand and respect their clients’ identities and related cultural ways of life. This course proposes strategies to engage clients of diverse racial and ethnic groups (who can have very different life experiences, values, and traditions) in treatment. The major racial and ethnic groups in the United States covered in this course are African Americans, Asian Americans (including Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders), Latinos, Native Americans (i.e., Alaska Natives and American Indians), and White Americans. In addition to providing epidemiological data on each group, the course discusses salient aspects of treatment for these racial/ethnic groups, drawing on clinical and research literature. While the primary focus of this course is on substance abuse treatment, the information and strategies given are equally relevant to all types of health and mental health treatment. Course #40-39 | 2015 | 75 pages (54 w/o references) | 30 posttest questions

Prescription Drug Abuse CE CoursePrescription Drug Abuse is a 3-hour online continuing education (CE) course that examines the misuse of prescription drugs (including opioids) in the United States. Misuse of prescription drugs means “taking a medication in a manner or dose other than prescribed; taking someone else’s prescription, even if for a legitimate medical complaint such as pain; or taking a medication to feel euphoria” and is a serious public health problem in the United States. When taken as prescribed, medication can be of great benefit to a patient, helping reduce pain, save lives, and improve one’s overall quality of life. However, when individuals misuse their prescribed medications or take medications not prescribed to them, the consequences can be disastrous. Illicit drug use, including the misuse of prescription medications, affects the health and well-being of millions of Americans. Among other deleterious effects, cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer, infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis, and lung disease can all be affected by drug use. The important thing to remember is that the medications are not inherently bad in and of themselves – it is how people use (and abuse) them that creates a problem. This course will discuss what drives people to abuse prescription drugs and how they obtain them; diagnostic criteria for substance use disorder; history and progression of prescription drug abuse, including types and classes of drugs used; and the cost of prescription drug abuse on addicts and non-addicts alike. The course will then review the sequence of treating individuals who have a prescription drug use disorder, including screening, assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and maintenance. Screening tools, assessment instruments, treatment programs, and evidence-based recommendations are included. Comorbidity between substance use disorder and mental disorders is also discussed. Course 31-00 | 2018 | 50 pages | 20 posttest questions

Cultural Awareness in Clinical PracticeCultural Awareness in Clinical Practice is a 3-hour online continuing education (CE/CEU) course that provides the foundation for achieving cultural competence and diversity in healthcare settings. Cultural competence, responding to diversity and inclusion, are important practices for healthcare professionals. This course will help you to gain an awareness of bias and provide strategies to adjust your clinical mindset and therapeutic approach to adapt to “the other” – people who differ in color, creed, sexual identification, socio-economic status, or other differences that make inclusion difficult. Inclusion is defined as “the state of being included” or “the act of including,” which is something all clinicians should strive for. This course is designed to provoke thought about culture, diversity, and inclusion. Even though research for evidence-based practice is somewhat limited in this area, the concept of cultural competency (however it is defined and measured) is a key skill for healthcare professionals to create an inclusive therapeutic environment. Course #31-07 | 2018 | 57 pages | 20 posttest questions

Professional Development Resources is a nonprofit educational corporation 501(c)(3) organized in 1992. We are approved to sponsor continuing education by the American Psychological Association (APA); the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC); the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB); the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA); the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA); the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR); the Alabama State Board of Occupational Therapy; the Florida Boards of Social Work, Mental Health Counseling and Marriage and Family Therapy, Psychology & School Psychology, Dietetics & Nutrition, Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, and Occupational Therapy Practice; the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker & MFT Board and Board of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology; the South Carolina Board of Professional Counselors & MFTs; the Texas Board of Examiners of Marriage & Family Therapists and State Board of Social Worker Examiners; and are CE Broker compliant (all courses are reported within a few days of completion).

Target Audience: PsychologistsCounselorsSocial WorkersMarriage & Family Therapist (MFTs)Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs)Occupational Therapists (OTs)Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDNs)School Psychologists, and Teachers

Earn CE Wherever YOU Love to Be!

Cultural Awareness in Clinical Practice

New Online CE Course @pdresources.org

Cultural Awareness in Clinical PracticeCultural Awareness in Clinical Practice is a new 3-hour online continuing education (CE/CEU) course that provides the foundation for achieving cultural competency and diversity in healthcare settings.

Cultural competence, responding to diversity and inclusion, are important practices for healthcare professionals. This course will help you to gain an awareness of bias and provide strategies to adjust your clinical mindset and therapeutic approach to adapt to “the other” – people who differ in color, creed, sexual identification, socio-economic status, or other differences that make inclusion difficult.

Inclusion is defined as “the state of being included” or “the act of including,” which is something all clinicians should strive for. This course is designed to provoke thought about culture, diversity, and inclusion. Even though research for evidence-based practice is somewhat limited in this area, the concept of cultural competency (however it is defined and measured) is a key skill for healthcare professionals to create an inclusive therapeutic environment. Course #31-07 | 2018 | 57 pages | 20 posttest questions

Click here to learn more.

This online course provides instant access to the course materials (PDF download) and CE test. After enrolling, click on My Account and scroll down to My Active Courses. From here you’ll see links to download/print the course materials and take the CE test (you can print the test to mark your answers on it while reading the course document).

Successful completion of the online CE test (80% required to pass, 3 chances to take) and course evaluation are required to earn a certificate of completion. Click here to learn more. Have a question? Contact us. We’re here to help!

Professional Development Resources is a nonprofit educational corporation 501(c)(3) organized in 1992. We are approved to sponsor continuing education by the American Psychological Association (APA); the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC); the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB); the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA); the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA); the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR); the Alabama State Board of Occupational Therapy; the Florida Boards of Social Work, Mental Health Counseling and Marriage and Family Therapy, Psychology & School Psychology, Dietetics & Nutrition, Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, and Occupational Therapy Practice; the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker & MFT Board and Board of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology; the South Carolina Board of Professional Counselors & MFTs; the Texas Board of Examiners of Marriage & Family Therapists and State Board of Social Worker Examiners; and are CE Broker compliant (all courses are reported within a few days of completion).

Target Audience: PsychologistsCounselorsSocial WorkersMarriage & Family Therapist (MFTs)Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs)Occupational Therapists (OTs)Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDNs)School Psychologists, and Teachers

Cultural Competence in Substance Abuse Treatment

Course excerpt from Improving Cultural Competence in Substance Abuse Treatment

Improving Cultural Competence in Substance Abuse TreatmentJohn, 27, is an American Indian from a Northern Plains Tribe. He recently entered an outpatient treatment program in a midsized Midwestern city to get help with his drinking and subsequent low mood. John moved to the city 2 years ago and has mixed feelings about living there, but he does not want to return to the reservation because of its lack of job opportunities. Both John and his counselor are concerned that (with the exception of his girlfriend, Sandy, and a few neighbors) most of his current friends and coworkers are “drinking buddies.” John says his friends and family on the reservation would support his recovery—including an uncle and a best friend from school who are both in recovery—but his contact with them is infrequent.

John says he entered treatment mostly because his drinking was interfering with his job as a bus mechanic and with his relationship with his girlfriend. When the counselor asks new group members to tell a story about what has brought them to treatment, John explains the specific event that had motivated him. He describes having been at a party with some friends from work and watching one of his coworkers give a bowl of beer to his dog. The dog kept drinking until he had a seizure, and John was disgusted when people laughed. He says this event was “like a vision;” it showed him that he was being treated in a similar fashion and that alcohol was a poison. When he first began drinking, it was to deal with boredom and to rebel against strict parents whose Pentecostal Christian beliefs forbade alcohol. However, he says this vision showed him that drinking was controlling him for the benefit of others.

Later, in a one-on-one session, John tells his counselor that he is afraid treatment won’t help him. He knows plenty of people back home who have been through treatment and still drink or use drugs. Even though he doesn’t consider himself particularly traditional, he is especially concerned that there is nothing “Indian” about the program; he dislikes that his treatment plan focuses more on changing his thinking than addressing his spiritual needs or the fact that drinking has been a poison for his whole community.

John’s counselor recognizes the importance of connecting John to his community and, if possible, to a source of traditional healing. After much research, his counselor is able to locate and contact an Indian service organization in a larger city nearby. The agency puts him in touch with an older woman from John’s Tribe who resides in that city. She, in turn, puts the counselor in touch with another member of the Tribe who is in recovery and had been staying at her house. This man agrees to be John’s sponsor at local 12-Step meetings. With John’s permission, the counselor arranges an initial family therapy session that includes his new sponsor, the woman who serves as a local “clan mother,” John’s girlfriend, and, via telephone, John’s uncle in recovery, mother, and brother. With John’s permission and the assistance of his new sponsor, the counselor arranges for John and some other members of his treatment group to attend a sweat lodge, which proves valuable in helping John find some inner peace as well as giving his fellow group members some insight into John and his culture.

To provide culturally responsive treatment, counselors and organizations must be committed to gaining cultural knowledge and clinical skills that are appropriate for the specific racial and ethnic groups they serve. Treatment providers need to learn how a client’s identification with one or more cultural groups influences the client’s identity, patterns of substance use, beliefs surrounding health and healing, help-seeking behavior, and treatment expectations and preferences. Adopting Sue’s (2001) multidimensional model in developing cultural competence, this course identifies cultural knowledge and its relationship to treatment as a domain that requires proficiency in clinical skills, programmatic development, and administrative practices. This course focuses on patterns of substance use and co-occurring disorders (CODs), beliefs about and traditions involving substance use, beliefs and attitudes about behavioral health treatment, assessment and treatment considerations, and theoretical approaches and treatment interventions across the major racial and ethnic groups in the United States.

Improving Cultural Competence in Substance Abuse Treatment is a 4-hour online continuing education (CE/CEU) course that proposes strategies to engage clients of diverse racial and ethnic groups in treatment.

Professional Development Resources is approved to offer continuing education by the American Psychological Association (APA); the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC); the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB); the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA); the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA); the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR); the California Board of Behavioral Sciences; the Florida Boards of Social Work, Mental Health Counseling and Marriage and Family Therapy, Psychology & School Psychology, Dietetics & Nutrition, Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, and Occupational Therapy Practice; the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker & MFT Board; the South Carolina Board of Professional Counselors & MFTs; and by the Texas Board of Examiners of Marriage & Family Therapists and State Board of Social Worker Examiners.

Cultural Competence in Health Communications

Cultural Competence in Health Communications

Click to view cultural CE courses

Cultural competence refers to an ability to interact effectively with people of different cultures. Cultural competence comprises four components:

  1. Awareness of one’s own cultural worldview
  2. Attitude towards cultural differences
  3. Knowledge of different cultural practices and worldviews
  4. Cross-cultural skills

Developing cultural competence results in an ability to understand, communicate with, and effectively interact with people across cultures. Effective health communication is as important to health care as clinical skill. To improve individual health and build healthy communities, health care providers need to recognize and address the unique culture, language and health literacy of diverse consumers and communities.

Professional Development Resources offers a variety of cultural-based continuing education (CE) courses for healthcare professionals to address this topic:

Cultural competency is one the main ingredients in closing the disparities gap in health care. It’s the way patients and doctors can come together and talk about health concerns without cultural differences hindering the conversation, but enhancing it. Quite simply, health care services that are respectful of and responsive to the health beliefs, practices and cultural and linguistic needs of diverse patients can help bring about positive health outcomes. {Office of Minority Health}

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Professional Development Resources Offers New Multicultural Training Courses – Press Release

During the month of February, a month that has come to be a time of learning about the achievements of Africans and African Americans, Professional Development Resources is releasing three new online continuing education courses that will offer mental health professionals the tools they need to become culturally proficient in working with racial/ethnic minority populations.

Professional Development Resources, a national provider of continuing education (CE) serving psychologists, social workers, professional counselors, marriage and family therapists, speech-language pathologists, and occupational therapists, has announced the publication of three new online CE courses that offer training in cultural competence in the treatment of ethnic minority populations. This is an essential endeavor for professionals, in view of the rapid diversification of the United States.

In its position paper Psychological Treatment of Ethnic Minority Populations, the American Psychological Association suggests that culturally competent therapists must be aware of their own racial and cultural heritage and become comfortable with the differences that exist between themselves and others. The critical issue is that without such awareness, there is a danger that helping professionals may unwittingly impose their worldviews on their minority clients, resulting in cultural oppression.

According to U.S. Census Bureau projections, racial/ethnic minorities will become a numerical majority by the year 2050, if not sooner,” says Leo Christie, PhD, CEO of Professional Development Resources. “This is an extraordinary historical transition, one that will require a fundamental shift in how we perceive our ability to serve our clients. No longer will we be able to rest comfortable in the belief that we know all we need to know about diverse individuals.”

There are three inescapable conclusions that can be drawn from the census projections, relative to the practice of mental health therapy:

  1. In today’s world, it would be surprising if mental health practitioners did NOT encounter clients and groups who differ from them in terms of race, ethnicity, and culture
  2. The world views of culturally diverse populations are likely to be qualitatively different from those of the helping professional
  3. Cultural competence in the delivery of services is absolutely essential to the psychological and physical well-being of persons of color

 

“We, as mental health professionals, are not immune from the biases, prejudices, and stereotypes that are common in the larger society,” adds Christie. “Even the most well-intentioned professionals may be biased with regard to race, gender, and social class. This kind of training – on a continuous basis – is an essential part of becoming proficient in working with racial/ethnic minority populations.

The three courses just released by Professional Development Resources are based on task force reports published by the American Psychological Association:

Multicultural Issues in Counseling – Multiracial Psychology Training
Resilience among African American Children & Adolescents
Multicultural Issues in Counseling – Psychological Treatment of Ethnic Minorities

About Professional Development Resources, Inc: Professional Development Resources is a Florida nonprofit educational corporation founded in 1992 by licensed marriage and family therapist Leo Christie, PhD. The company, which is accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA), the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB), the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC), the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) – as well as many other national and state boards – has focused its efforts on making online continuing education courses more efficient and widely accessible to health professionals by offering online home study coursework. Its current expanded curriculum includes a wide variety of clinical topics intended to equip health professionals to offer state-of-the art services to their clients.