Multicultural Counseling – COUC 504

Course Description

Rationale

The counseling program seeks to train the student to evaluate diverse individual, group, and family populations in order to effectively determine appropriate treatments. In order to assess, diagnose, and treat individual, group, and family clients effectively, the student must develop cultural self-awareness, appreciate client multicultural differences (including demographic and religious differences), learn principles of social justice, and seek to eliminate prejudice towards a variety of populations.

Method of Instruction: This 8 week course is delivered in a digital asynchronous format, with Canvas® as the primary instructional delivery method. Students complete one module per week over the duration of the course. 

Course Assignment

Textbook readings and lecture presentations

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussions (3)

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the student will reflect upon what he/she has learned after reviewing all of the Learn material in the assigned module: week. The student must then create a thread in response to the provided prompt for each discussion, incorporating at least 2 scholarly, peer-reviewed citations and a biblical worldview. Each thread must be 350–450 words and include pertinent aspects of the course content. The student must also reply to at least 2 classmates’ threads. Each reply must be 200–300 words and include at least 1 scholarly, peer-reviewed citation (CLO: A, B, C).

Discussion: Video Presentation Cultural Immersion Experience

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the student will complete a 15-20 minute video presentation that allows the student to consider multicultural trends found in a particular diverse cultural group of the United States and to begin comparing/contrasting their own cultural experience with that of this other group. Through the actual experience of what it is like to be immersed in a different culture, greater insight will occur into the role of the counselor in developing cultural self-awareness, understanding the role of community, cultural, and family systems, the promotion of social justice and advocacy, and the importance of eliminating biases. The presentation must consist of 10+ sides (not counting the title slide or the reference page slide). The student will view and submit a 1-2 minute video reply to two (2) other students' initial videos and comment on the presentation. Each student will include in his/her reply what two (2) elements he/she was previously unaware of regarding the population and their significance for him/her as a future clinician (CLO: A, B, C, D, E, F).

Cultural Background Paper Assignment

In the Cultural Background Paper, the student will investigate his/her own cultural background to gain better insight into his/her culture, attitudes, and beliefs, and how these may impact his/her clients. The investigation will help the student apply the multicultural literature in a way that fosters development of self-awareness and a coherent personal counseling perspective. Such an investigation will expand the student's understanding of how cultural awareness promotes optimal wellness and holistic growth. 

The student will complete the cultural background paper analyzing the background of his/her parents or primary caregivers in regard to family culture. If the student has a multi-racial background, he/she will pick the two most predominate cultures.  The student will look at some of the research describing people from his/her background and interview his/her parents/significant care givers and other significant family members to get information. This paper will be approximately 2000 words. In addition to five (5) scholarly (peer-reviewed) sources, a minimum of two (2) Internet/media sources related to your culture should be utilized. (CLO: A, B, C).

Benchmark Cultural Immersion Project Assignments (2)

This project involves 2 papers and the selected group for this experience should be a different population than which the student identifies. In addition, the student must have selected a group with whom he/she has little or no prior experience and the student cannot use cultural groups identified in prior cultural immersion experiences. The student must use current APA format, including a title page and a reference page (an abstract is not necessary). 

Benchmark Cultural Immersion Project: Research and Events Paper Assignment

The student will research six (6) scholarly sources on the cultural group of interest that will include research on historical/current oppression of the group. In addition, the student will attend and participate in two (2) events related to the cultural group wherein the student will learn about the population through the activities. The student will answer a set of questions that addresses the research and event participation, and the answers to these questions will be approximately 2,200 words.

Benchmark Cultural Immersion Project: Interview Paper Assignment

The student will conduct two (2) interviews relating to the cultural group of interest. The first interview will be with an employee or representative of an agency/organization which engages in social justice work with the student's chosen population. The second interview will be with an individual or married couple from the selected cultural group in order to develop an understanding of what helped shape that individual’s or couple’s cultural identity. Each interview should last approximately one (1) hour. The student will answer a set of questions that address responses from the two (2) interviews and include a summary of the experience. The answers to these questions should be approximately 2,500 words. At least two (2) scholarly peer-reviewed sources should be used for this assignment (CLO: A, B, C, D, E, F).

Quizzes (8)

The student will complete 8 quizzes that are open-book/open-notes, consist of 15 multiple-choice questions and have a time limit of 30 minutes. The quizzes are not cumulative; rather, each quiz focuses on the material from that particular module. The student will have 2 attempts to complete each quiz, and the highest grade will be recorded (CLO: A, D, E, F).

The student will select a population for his/her immersion project. The quiz is open-book/open-notes, will contain 4 essay and true/false questions, and has a 20-minute time limit. The student is allowed two attempts to complete the quiz and the highest attempt will count towards the grade.

The student will will rate him/herself on the nine dispositions required for this program. The quiz is open-book/open-notes, will contain 9 multiple-choice questions and 1 essay question, and has a 1-hour time limit. The student is allowed 1 attempt to complete the quiz.