|
© Copyright 2003, Charlene
Bruhl, all rights reserved
Note: Some pages on this site are still under construction
and will be updated as soon as possible. To report problems or errors on this
website, email Miss Charlene's webmaster
Mike Starr.
| |
Confronting Stereotypes: Ability to be Sensitive to Clients
as Individuals
Stereotype
- A general viewpoint about a group of people (ex. all
"x" people are ............) (Reality: there
are variations within any chosen group of people)
Prejudice
- An opinion about a person or group of people formed
without knowledge or with limited knowledge (these
opinions are often negative and used to limit a
person’s rights or access)
Cultural Competency
- An approach to client services which minimizes the impact
of stereotyping and negative prejudice.
Definition of Cultural Competency
- "An organization’s ability to recognize,
respect, and address the unique needs, worth, thoughts,
communications, actions, customs, beliefs, and values
that reflect an individual’s racial, ethnic,
religious, and/or social groups or sexual
orientation." (definition from the 1999 standards of
The Rehabilitation Accreditation Commission,
"CARF")
Ethnicity
- "Ethnicity refers to a common ancestry through which
individuals have evolved shared values and customs. It is
deeply tied to the family, through which it is
transmitted. A group’s sense of commonality is
transmitted over generations by the family and reinforced
by the surrounding community. Ethnicity is a powerful
influence in determining identity. A sense of belonging
and of historical continuity are basic psychological
needs."
-
- "Ethnicity interacts with economics, race, class,
religion, politics, geography, the length of time since
migration, a group’s specific historical experience,
and the degree of discrimination it has experienced.
Generally, people move closer to the dominant value
system the longer they remain in the United States and
the more they rise in social class. Families that remain
within an ethnic neighborhood, who work and socialize
with members of their group, and those whose religion
reinforces ethnic values, will probably maintain their
ethnicity longer than those who live in heterogeneous
settings." (from the book, Ethnicity & Family
Therapy, Edited by Monica McGoldrick, Joe Giordano, and
John K. Pearce, 2nd edition, The Guilford Press, 1996,
pp. 1-2.)
Discussion Exercise
- Name some of the groups that receive services at your
agency.
- List some of the stereotypes that exist about those
groups of people.
- Identify which of those stereotypes are true and which
are false.
- Discuss how those stereotypes affect the quality of
services provided at your agency.
- Discuss what strategies could be implemented to overcome
the problems experienced.
|
This website has been developed as a public service by: