Week 10 Discussion Forum
Write a discussion post. 300-400 words.
After answering and writing discussion post, replay to at least 2 classmate’s discussion post. 150 words. Choose one of the client story from attached files
Instruction
Read Chapters 9-11 in the Zunker text (along with Appendix C) and review the additional materials found below.
After answering discussion post with 300words, reply POLITELY to 2 classmate post 150 words each:
Classmate post 1 TC:
1. Jose is a 16 year old Mexican-American. Jose comes from a large extended family. Jose often helps with his family’s small farm. As part of the curriculum for ninth grade students, Jose needs to take a career exploration class. Durin the class Jose jokes and acts silly. Jose plans to drop out of school at the end of the year and thinks this class is a waste of time. Jose has two siblings. One will finish high school, the other wants to attend college. Jose wants to work for his father. Jose explained that his parents don’t really have an opinion on his future.
2. Jose does not want to finish high school; his career options are significantly diminished without a diploma. Jose does well in art and physical education. Jose’s parents do not have any opinions on his future. Jose does not consider himself close to the Hispanic culture that his parents are close with, however, it is not something that we can ignore. Jose comes from a large extended family that could be used as influential pieces for progression in highschool.
3. Identify alternative approaches to meet career planning needs for individuals of various diverse populations.
4. It is always important to recognize and understand that personal biases on career development and achievement may be different from what is best for the client. For instance, I hold a lot of importance to being able to finish highschool where as Jose may not see the importance. My parents had a huge influence on career path, where as Jose’s parents have very little opinion. I will work on this with clients by seeking to understand their positions on different cultural aspects.
5. We will work to establish and assess the impact of cultural variables on Jose’s career goals, specifically how his Mexican-American upbringing on the farm has affected is attitude towards finishing highschool. The next step would be to establish self identified goals that would be appropriate for his personal culture.
Classmate post 2 DD:
1. Jose is 15 years old and in the ninth grade. He excels in art and physical education but struggles in social studies and language arts. Jose’s family is from Mexico, and they have a strong connection to their Hispanic culture. His grandparents are fluent in Spanish. However, Jose, his mother, and father are not. Jose works on the family farm before and after school every day. José has an older sister who is a senior in high school and plans to work in a department store and possibly marry her high school sweetheart after graduation. He also has an older brother whom he envies because he is doing well in school and plans to attend college. Jose is required by his school to begin thinking about a career after high school. Jose believes that developing a career plan is pointless and a waste of his time. He has decided to drop out of school at the age of 16 and work on the family farm.
2. Although Jose has little affiliation for Mexico or Hispanic culture, I must keep the following in mind when working with him. Family, family structure, food, sports, and art are all important topics. Strong family relationships with both the nuclear and extended families are essential. Traditionally, the well-being and needs of the family take priority over the wants and needs of the individual. Fathers dominate the family structure. The father is the head of the household and has authority over all members of the family. In Jose’s case, his father and mother have no opinion about his or his siblings’ futures. However, his father warns him that the farm will not produce enough income to support two families. When working with Jose, you should consider sports and art. Sports bring people together all over the world, and Jose enjoys playing baseball. Aside from sports, art has a place in Hispanic culture. Jose could benefit from a job that allows him to use his artistic abilities.
3. As a guide for working with diverse clients, including Jose, I would use the environmental interventions listed under the Client/Student Advocacy Counselor Competencies as stated in the ACA counseling competency.
4. It is critical for my well-being and professional accomplishments that I consider/be aware of my own biases in the context of these competencies. When I am aware of my thoughts and beliefs, I am able to grow, learn, and connect with people who are different from me. As a counselor working with clients/students who are different from me, I will set aside any consciously or unconsciously held assumptions about others so that I can actively listen to them with an open mind and heart.
5. Respect for all cultures is one of the strategies I can use to help the client develop a culturally competent perspective. Be self-aware of my own biases and make an effort to eradicate them. Get to know my clients/students and practice being aware of and accepting of their differences. The impact/outcome of these strategies on my clients/students will be long-lasting. We will be able to communicate effectively, and I will be able to inquire about their cultural background and practices.
Classmate post 3 JE:
Name of the client you chose and a brief synopsis of the client’s presenting issues.
Janine is a 22-year-old female who self-identifies as “queer.” She is separated from her family, who live in a different state, after leaving home at 19 and describes having limited contact with her parents as well as a difficult education history. This history includes difficulty paying attention in school, a low GPA, limitations in reading and writing skills, and a failure to maintain employment after receiving training in computer skills due to slow work performance. When dreaming about the future, it is difficult for Janine to picture herself in any career, although she loves art and graphic design. Additionally, her knowledge about possible career paths is extremely limited. Finally, Janine has a mental health history of two past suicide attempts and corresponding hospitalizations. In the second of these she received the diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder and she is currently taking medication for mood stabilization.
Provide a one-paragraph write-up of the cultural concerns you must be aware of while working with this client.
Zunker points out the importance of noting Janine’s Midwestern, Suburban, and presumably white heritage: “The counselor should keep in mind that some European Americans can be very action oriented… Counselors are to stress the strength of the individual” (p. 239). Zunker goes on to note that counselors need not dismiss the importance of support from others, but instead to be aware of the importance of independence, hard work, dedication, and the individual when working with this cultural background (p. 239). Similarly, Janine voices feeling very much like an isolated individual as she describes her sexual orientation. Based my reading of the case study, I think it is possible she is in Stage II in her Homosexual Identity Formation (HIF; Identity Comparsion). This seems plausible based on her separation from family, desire to challenge society by her actions and how she describes her affinity for her chosen label of “queer” since it challenges the status quo–both of which point to a possible sense of alienation for Janine (p.268). As Zunker points out, this information is significant since it can help inform the counselor about the client’s level of self-awareness and other career decision making factors (p. 268). Zunker also suggests that this may mean that Janine “may need further assistance with developing [her identity] before beginning career counseling or in conjunction with it” (p.274-275).
Name one NCDA, ACA, or ASCA counseling competency related to gender or multicultural considerations that you will use as a guide for working with diverse clients, including the client you chose this week (see the course module for links to the competencies).
The ACA’s Competency for Counseling LGBQIQA paper offers this particular competency when working with LGBQIQA clients:
Social and Cultural Diversity
B.2. Be aware that language is ever-evolving and varies from person to person; honor labels and terms preferred by the client; recognize that language has historically been used and continues to be used to oppress and discriminate against LGBQQ individuals; understand that the counselor is in a position of power and should model respect for the individual’s declared vocabulary.
It is important for clients to be able to decide their own terms–and for those terms to be embraced and utilized during their sessions. I will use this as a guide for my future private practice work with LGBQIQA patients. And–it also applies to this case study. Janine reports preference for the term “Queer,” and not lesbian or bi-sexual. The counselor working with Janine should utilize this term as Janine continues to grow in her understanding of herself and her evolving identity.
Discuss why it’s important to consider your own biases within the context of these competencies and how you will work with clients who are different from you.
Zunker notes that “counselors must be aware of their own homophobic and heterosexist bias when counseling sexual minorities… [and] must challenge their own assumptions when trying to understand the complexity of a sexual orientation different than their own” (p.266). Part of the importance of this is named as Zunker as “‘Hidden discrimination’” (p. 267). Although Zunker reports its presence in the workplace, it can also show up in the counseling room just as easily. Whether through the use of non-gender-neutral terms, false assumptions about LGBQIQA individuals, or the showing of the counselor’s own beliefs/values contradicting the client’s identity, the counseling room can be yet another environment in the world where the client can feel on the receiving end of harm rather than help.
Identify the specific strategies (from the reading or other course materials) that you will utilize in order to assist the client from a culturally competent perspective and the intended outcomes/impact of those strategies on your client.
Swanson & Fouad (1999) suggest beginning career counseling by establishing a culturally appropriate relationship, and then start to help identify career issues. In this order, these seem like the best place to start with Janine. While her initial interest in help finding work and questions about possible community college courses is what brought Janine into therapy–and will remain as a goal-focus in therapy–it is not the best place to start. Per Swanson & Fouad, the counselor should begin by forming a trusting bond with the client where all pieces of her identity can be accepted and embraced. Then, when the client can begin to allow her true self to be present in session, help in identifying career issues can be a viable next step. This will no doubt transition naturally to step 3 (assessing the impact of cultural variables on career issues), and wondering about Janine’s anticipated reactions to the possibility of harassment at her future place of employment. However, this conversation cannot happen if there is not a culturally appropriate relationship developed first. The intended outcome and impact of this strategy is to create a safe place where the client can not only receive career counseling, but can also grow through the stages of HIF, and help can be provided for her Bipolar signs and symptoms.
