Multicultural Counseling and Research Issues – PSYC 351

CG • Section 8WK • 11/08/2019 to 04/16/2020 • Modified 09/05/2023

Course Description

This course will raise awareness of psychological factors that influence an individual’s perception of culture, ethnicity, and race. The course will discuss approaches and interventions shown to be multiculturally effective. The importance of therapist characteristics will be emphasized. Additionally, research leading to the misunderstanding of minority culture members will be critiqued as the value of objective scientific reporting is recognized to be critical to advancement in the mental health field.

For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the Academic Course Catalog.

Rationale

One's identity and culture are major influences in how one sees and experiences the world. It is important for those within the helping professions to understand and learn from the cultural identities of those whom they serve in order to provide applied services that are culturally appropriate. The psychology of culture brings into awareness a number of components in cultural studies, including cultural humility and competence, justice, client worldview, communication, and group dynamics. This course specifically addresses how these components contribute to an individual's cultural identity, as well as how they can shape and inform best practices in the field.

Course Assignment

Textbook readings and lecture presentations

(CLO: A, B, C, D, E, F)

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 create a thread in response to the provided prompt for each discussion. Each thread must be at least 250 words. In addition to the thread, the student is required to reply to 2 other classmates’ threads. Each reply thread must be at least 150 words. (CLO: C, D, F)

Textbook Critique Paper Assignments (2)

This paper is made up of two assignments: the Textbook Critique: Paper Proposal Assignment and the Textbook Critique: Final Paper Assignment.

The student will critique the textbook with one supporting scholarly journal article/book for support. The Textbook Critique must be 4.5 pages of text, not including the title page and reference page. The student must include a biblical worldview in his or her analysis. (CLO: A, B, C, D, E)

Annotated Bibliography Assignment

For the Annotated Bibliography Assignment, the student will read the provided articles (2) in the Resources section and write an annotated bibliography in current APA format for the 2 articles. (CLO: C, D, F)

PowerPoint Presentation Assignment

Create a 6 slide PowerPoint presentation for one of the two articles provided on Canvas from the PowerPoint presentation instructions. Describe the following main points of the article in your power point: The hypothesis of the study, the participant of the study, the methods used in the study, and the results of the study. Include a biblical application in the power point. (CLO: C, D, F)

Quizzes (4)

Each test will cover the Learn material for the module: week in which it is assigned, as well as the prior module: week. Each test will be open-book/open-notes, and contain 50 multiple-choice and true/false questions. Some tests may also include matching questions, and an essay question. There is a 1 hour and 30 minute time limit. (CLO: A, B, C, D, E, F)