DeaconField10122
The Culturally Skilled Practitioner: Knowledge Practitioners in the…
The Culturally Skilled Practitioner: Knowledge
Practitioners in the fields of medicine, psychology, and social services are committed to helping those they serve. In today’s world, this helping relationship quite often extends across lines of cultural difference. It is vital that practitioners in helping professions be ‘culturally skilled’. Several different types of knowledge are essential to a culturally skilled practitioner.
A culturally skilled practitioner should have a knowledge and understanding of how systematic oppression functions in our and other societies both historically and presently. Discrimination is pervasive in modern U.S. society although it can be much more subtle and difficult to recognize, particularly by members of majority groups (Dovidio, Gaertner, Kawakami, Hodson). It can be difficult for practitioners belonging to majority groups to understand, empathize with, or believe a minority client’s experience of oppression if they do not understand the mechanisms by which cultural dominance of one group by another is established and perpetuated.
A second type of knowledge that a culturally skilled practitioner should have is knowledge about other cultures particularly cultures of clients with which the practitioner is or is likely to be working with. They should know about cultural variation in general, such as how individualism differs from collectivism, in order to be attuned to recognizing difference. And they should know about some of the traditions, values, history, etc. of other specific cultures, religions, and identity groups. To be an expert on every culture would take several PhD.’s and extensive world travel and is probably not practical. Yet a practitioner should be able to ask a client about his or her family’s attitudes about a particular holiday, for example, without having to ask the client to explain what the holiday is.
Thirdly, a culturally skilled practitioner must have astute self-knowledge (APA; Stuart). Practitioners should engage in thorough and regular self-reflection. They should be able to articulate their own values, beliefs, and worldviews, recognize where these came from in their personal experience, and evaluate their validity (Stuart). Practitioners should be able to acknowledge their own automatic biases, know how to overcome them, and work diligently to do so (APA).
Without these types of knowledge, a professional relationship intended to provide help could unintentionally turn oppressive, marginalizing, or hurtful to the client or patient. Acquiring this cultural skill requires not only formal training, but also personal vigilance and a deep commitment to the values of these helping professions.
Works Cited
American Psychological Association (APA). “Guidelines on Multicultural Education, Training, Research, Practice, and Organizational Change for Psychologists” [Electronic Version]. American Psychologist, 58(5), 377-402. Retrieved October 20, 2007 from EbscoHost PsycArticles database.
Dovidio, J.F., Gaertner, S.L., Kawakami, K., & Hodson, G. “Why Can’t We Just Get Along? Interpersonal Biases and Interracial Distrust” [Electronic Version]. Cultural Diversity &Ethnic Minority Psychology, 8(2), 88-102. Retrieved October 20, 2007 from EbscoHost PsycArticles database.
Stuart, R.B. “Twelve Practical Suggestions for Achieving Multicultural Competence” [Electronic Version]. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 35(1), 3-9. Retrieved October 20, 2007 from EbscoHost PsycArticles database.
write the topic outline that this author could have written before arriving at this final draft. Pick out the thesis statement, the main ideas and the supporting information. Be sure to format the outline correctly and follow the rules of parallelism, division, subordination, and coordination.
