Introduction
Cultural competence refers to a collection of abilities, attitudes, and principles that recognize, respect, and contribute to productive relationships between individuals and the many ethnic and cultural groups with which they come into touch at work and in their personal life. Multiculturally focused human services workers must be conscious of their boundaries and capabilities and have a plan for soliciting input from customers and resolving constraints.
A solid grasp of cultural competence is now required for anybody planning to engage in human services. Significant connections with and connections to other people on a human level are essential to any part of employment in the field of human care. Moreover, cultural competence is the only way to do this. I wrote this plan intending to study multiculturally oriented human services and create your development plan in this direction.
The idea of cultural expertise even admits that the method we communicate and show sympathy is impacted by the culture in which we live. Not always, the act of empathy is the same as that of other cultures. Cultural competence covers the complete range of attitudes, communication, and listening abilities needed to interact successfully and effectively with individuals from various civilizations. Culture is not truly established; it mixes with other cultures to produce new ones and evolves throughout time. Multicultural orientations are composed of various topics ranging from race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, culture, and disability (Chatraw & Prior, 2019). It is not just a moving goal of artistic skill but a two-way road as well. The way you relate to other cultures and how individuals in other cultures relate to you are also part of your cultural heritage.
Strengths
In response to numerous trends in the tradition of multicultural skills, the multicultural orientation framework was established with a particular focus on integrating the tradition of multicultural skills into psychotherapist research. Multicultural orientation is a framework that centers on human services professionals understanding their limitations, strengths, and what they know and do not know about their cultural perspectives and other cultural groups. (Hook et al., 2017). The multicultural orientation viewpoint is offered as a pragmatic approach of enhancing cultural knowledge of psychotherapy dynamics, processes, and results as a complement to multicultural competence. The multicultural approach is essential to treating individuals and groups and consists of three essential components: cultural humility, cultural comfort, and cultural opportunity.
The acquisition of cultural competence and the transformation into a multilateral consultant implies that therapists can develop the necessary skills to satisfy their clients’ demands. Multicultural advice comprises numerous vital aspects that are typically obtained via learning and work. The capacity to connect with a person on a human level is a vital talent for all counselors. Conversation skills, including listening, answering, and questioning, are the most crucial interpersonal skills. I have no problems with this skill; I am confident that I can cope with possible pressure during a conversation and help direct my clients in the right direction.
Cultural awareness is knowing that culture is more than simply the color of the skin. Culture refers to the way of life, frequently affected by the background, environment, social connections, hobbies, and accomplishments. With this skill, I also will not have any problems since I calmly contact people of any race and gender; there is no difference in this, and all people are equal to each other. I consider this skill to be one of the key ones for working in a multicultural industry.
Limitations
In addressing possible upsetting subjects, therapists and advisors must be circumspect. If their customers are initially hesitant to address some subjects, counselors and psychologists should respect their preferences and take an alternative line. Respect for the sentiments of people is crucial to help them open up to therapeutic approaches and become receptive. Tact and sensitivity are the natural talents of therapists and consultants who address any topics that may provoke them with great care. This skill causes me difficulties because I show too much compassion for people; such sensitivity should not be when working in this area. I will develop in this case to avoid possible complications in the future.
Plan for Addressing Limitaions
My continuing process is to become a therapist or advisor with expertise in intercultural counseling. The combination of direct instruction in cultural reaction and case consultation led me to a considerably higher level of cultural competence (Jones et al., 2016, p. 241). It takes several years of training, preparation, and on-the-job expertise, and multicultural consultants always educate and modify their techniques to incorporate new ideas and therapeutic approaches. Mental health experts should reconcile multicultural advice skills and develop their models so that their professionals may be better guided (Ridley et al., 2021, p. 534).
A specialized program introduces students to diverse concepts, therapeutic techniques, and the basic principles of multicultural counseling is the most significant way to improve multicultural counseling skills. Such programs might involve employment with people with various experiences in an institution.
During customer sessions, therapists should not strengthen socioeconomic standards. Instead, their tactics should be adapted to each customer’s demands, and their practice should be based on cultural skills and multicultural counseling principles. Artistic skill is crucial since therapists and consultants would not treat everyone with various backgrounds without this. To achieve progress with their customers, therapists should develop relationships with family troubles, depression, stress, or other social and mental problems. The therapeutic approach would be limited without an understanding relationship.
According to Outcomes Matter, PMCOT is a technique to understand various multicultural presentations and respond to them. It is a way to see the multicultural identities, values, and beliefs of people and engage them (2021). I believe that these courses will be practical and valuable for new employees and people from this field. I will gladly take this course to learn something new.
Plan for Seeking Feedback
I believe that direct customer feedback is not the most truthful, as sometimes they can be stereotyped. I think that you should compare the situation before and after to understand how much I coped with the work. It is how I believe that the assessment of my work will be as relevant as possible. During the working process, you can ask customers if everything suits them to avoid possible problems.
Conclusion
I drew up this plan to build a path for myself to become an expert in this area. Multicultural staff must be aware of their limits and skills and plan to elicit consumer opinion and address limitations. The notion of cultural competence even acknowledges that our society influences the manner we communicate. Culture is not genuinely set; it combines to form new civilizations and changes over time.
The procedure continues to develop into a therapist or adviser with multicultural advice competence. Multicultural orientation is a paradigm that focuses on the awareness of human services workers’ limits, skills, and knowledge, not knowing their cultural views and other different cultures. The point of view of multicultural orientation is given as a practical method for improving the cultural awareness of dynamics, processes, and outcomes in the therapeutic field. The resources quoted have helped me understand my skill level and which ones should be improved. This plan was created to determine my competence in working in a multicultural environment.
References
Chatraw, J., & Prior, K. (2019). Cultural engagement: A crash course in contemporary issues. Zondervan Academic.
Hook, J. N., Davis, D., Owen, J., & DeBlaere, C. (2017). Cultural humility: Engaging diverse identities in therapy. American Psychological Association.
Jones, J. M., Kawena Begay, K., Nakagawa, Y., Cevasco, M., & Sit, J. (2016). Multicultural counseling competence training: Adding value with multicultural consultation. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 26(3), 241-265. Web.
Outcomes Matter. (2021). Pluralistic, multicultural orientation treatment (PMCOT). Web.
Ridley, C. R., Sahu, A., Console, K., Surya, S., Tran, V., Xie, S., & Yin, C. (2021). The process model of multicultural counseling competence. The Counseling Psychologist, 49(4), 534-567. Web.