BSHS 465 Week 5 Video Analysis

Multicultural Counseling Video Analysis

University of Phoenix

BSHS/465 – PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND IDENTITY

Multicultural Counseling Video Analysis

This paper will look in to the video, “Multicultural Counseling and Psychotherapy.” The paper will discuss how counselors help clients become aware of their own expression of cultural identity. It will discuss multicultural issues affecting clients and their situations. The paper will look at strategies that counselors can use to identify areas where multicultural issues are playing a role in the client’s life. The paper will discuss my own culture views, shaping my own identify, values, and belief system.

Relationship towards Awareness

Counselor helps clients in getting to understand themselves and know how to express their cultural identity in many ways. The counselor meets the client in the first stage referred to as the exploring stage. In the stage, the counselor helps the client to relate to their problems with the context. The process of attending is under this stage and includes the body language, eye contact, and verbal tracking. The second process is the reflecting or the questioning process that is a component first stage; the exploring stage. This stage includes paraphrasing, open-ended questioning, and summarizing (Multicultural Counseling and Psychotherapy, 2001).

In the video we can see that the two counselors Dr. Brook Harris and Dr. Montana used this method as they tried to know how they are going to relate with them as they continue with the process. For example Dr. Brook Harris asks Puah the type of relationship she wants them to relate. Puah responds by saying that she needs an open relationship where he is honest with her. During this stage, it is important for the counselor to communicate empathy, acceptance, and positive regard (Multicultural Counseling and Psychotherapy, 2001).

Multicultural Issues Affecting the Clients

Some of the multicultural issues that involve the client are the diversity of cultural groups among people. When people change location they move to new places where they find different people with different cultures. It can be hard for people to adapt to this new cultural context where they do know many people and don’t have new friends or close relatives. This becomes a multicultural issue since the client finds it hard to adapt to the new environment and hence depression. In the video we can see that Puah shows an example of this multicultural issue after relocating to this place. She fears that she is lonely in this place and she might disappoint her relatives who spend a large amount of money in educating her (Multicultural Counseling and Psychotherapy, 2001).

Strategies

Counselors use strategies to help client with their multicultural issues. According to the counselors the strategies to be used are clarifying the impact of actions, reinforcement conditioning, identifying target actions, determining baselines, encouraging active choices, assessing stages of change, schedules of reinforcement, prescribing actions, constructing a hierarchy, exposing to images/experiences, fostering experience, encouraging commitments, providing training and rehearsal, and coaching and shaping(Multicultural Counseling and Psychotherapy, 2001).

Clarifying the Impact of Actions

This strategy involves clarifying the effect of actions o feelings, interpersonal relationships and thoughts. It is efficient when the client is not aware of the way their decisions or choices affects or are related to their symptoms or problems. It is important to highlight the effect of behavioral choices on feelings, thoughts, and relationships. If this strategy is successful the result is greater awareness regarding behavior and understanding clearly ones place in the greater environment (Ramirez, 2007).

Illuminating Reinforcement and Conditioning

This strategy involves looking at how behavior is maintained and shaped by reinforcing and how it is useful when clients get to understand where their current dysfunctional behavior patterns came from. The professional implements this like Dr. Jill in the video by asking the client three to four question that aim in observing the patterns of conditioned and reinforced responses. If this strategy is successful, and the professional knows the external and reinforcement and conditioned response, the client is able to understand the problem more and the reason why change has been difficult in the past (Ramirez, 2007).

Identifying Target Actions

In this strategy, it is important for clients to try identifying the specific behavioral targets where the client should be changed. This is effective in the case where the client is not aware with the changes that should be made. Also, to help the client the strategy implementation involves asking the client three to four questions that aims at getting information from the client. If this strategy is successful, the professional is able to establish and know the targeted actions that should help in modification of the behaviors (Ramirez, 2007).

Determining Baselines and Encouraging Active Choices

This is a strategy that involves determining the duration and frequency of specific behavior with the purpose of establishing gauge and baseline progress. The strategy marker is to measure the frequency at which specific actions are important once the targets have been identified. After implementation of this strategy that involves asking the client some questions the desired achievement is to understand the scope of the problem. Encouraging active choices involves encouraging clients to make choices based on a realistic assessment of the likely results of their behavior. Incase clients are not taking action in the needed direction or are involved in actions that do not support their stipulated goals, then encouragement of active choices is important. After the implementation of this strategy, the desired achievement involves the need by the client to make good choices and inform subsequent choices (Ramirez, 2007).

The sixth strategy involves assessing stages of change and prepares clients as the move toward action. If clients want to modify their behavior, it will be of help for a psycho-therapist to evaluate their stages of change. By employing this strategy the therapist can help the client go through each stage of the action at a time and help them adapt to the changes. When clients require incentives and encouragement to work toward change may be of help to identify specific reinforces. The expected result of employing this strategy is change of behavior (Ramirez, 2007).

1. Assessing Stages of Change and Establishing Schedules of Reinforcement

This is a strategy employed by therapists to assign the action that should be done by clients to help them change their behaviors. It is useful mainly when the results of this is to activate change when client is tuck from an ineffective pattern and is not sure what type of change to make. If this strategy is effective, the clients will be able to evaluate the actions and know which ones are to be repeated and the new behaviors that should be adopted. It involves the creation of a hierarchy of situations or behaviors that are observed at different levels of distress to identify an intervention strategy. In this case, if the distress has been reported in related but related situation it is important to identify the specific stimuli that are related with the unwanted responses. The achievement that is seen with this strategy is that it helps in understanding the different stimuli that affects the client (Ramirez, 2007).

1. Prescribing Actions Constructing a Hierarchy

Exposing Clients to Images or Experience

This involves exposing the client to real–life experiences or distressing images to desensitize or extinguish problematic responses. If the client has unwanted response that has to be related to a particular stimulus it may be important to use exposure to extinguish the response. The end result of this strategy is that the client can avoid situation like that. The client can relate to their real-life situation and overcome it (Ramirez, 2007).

Tabitha Culture, Identity, Beliefs, and Values

As a child, my mother would move us children around different states, cultures, and income levels. As time went by, I understood that we all are different colors, have different incomes, and different values. But one thing stayed the same, we all bleed the same color when we get hurt, we all have common goals or thoughts, and we all are the same. To this day, this has shaped my identity. I believe that there is no “color,” that all people are the same and want the same out of life, which is to survive.

My mother taught us children never to judge a book by its cover, do not worry about what other people may think about you, have determination, and help others in need. These transformed in to my belief system as I got older; I made goals to get good grades in school, never to judge a person but offer help, and have determination to make a way for myself in life. My mother taught us children to be honest, take care of our health, value family, and not to be lazy. This shaped my values as an adult to watch what I eat, go to the doctor, be honest even though a person may not like what you have to say, know that family is important, and to work for what you want; do not take hand outs.

My own identify was shaped by my experiences, my mother, and my family. I value that I was raised to respect others, be honest, do not judge people by their color, and to help others. I value that I am able to achieve my goals with little help or support from others. I feel that it is important that I was brought up to make a way and not to find a way by looking for hand outs. My identity shows strength, self-motivation, hard worker, and to reach achievement in life.

Conclusion

To conclude, multicultural psycho-therapy can be seen as an important help in ensuring that the client receives help in the various ways especially if the problem is from a multicultural perspective. It also good for the psycho therapist to observe the strategies stated above to help them in their challenges. My mother played an important role when it comes to me learning my culture, creating myself values, and my belief system. My own system is to treat others with respect, all races are equal, self-motivation, honesty, determination, and to reach my own achievements without having hand outs.

References

Multicultural Counseling and Psychotherapy [Video file]. (2001). Microtraining Associates. Retrieved April 1, 2015, from VAST: Academic Video Online.

Ramirez, M., & Ramirez, M. (2007). Multicultural psychotherapy: an approach to individual and cultural differences (2nd ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.