Multicultural Perspectives

Catalog description

The purposes of this course are twofold. First, the class promotes an understanding and appreciation of cultural and ethnic differences among individuals, groups, and families and the impact of such differences on the theory and clinical practice of counseling. Second, the course continues to enhance students’ abilities to apply their knowledge in the area of multicultural perspectives to their personal lives and professional work. Culture will be defined broadly to address race and ethnicity (including national origin) with cultural intersections such as religion, gender, socioeconomic status, age, sexual orientation, and persons with disabilities. This intersectionality framework further enhances the skills necessary for culturally responsive awareness and interactions, with specific emphasis on how to think critically about and hold multiple perspectives in preparation for culturally competent counseling. Finally, the course will introduce students to global mental health to increase cultural humility in clinical practice. Multicultural Perspectives is the second course in a two-quarter sequence (following Family of Origin Systems) for entering clinical students.