MULTICULTURAL INFUSION OF GRADUATE LEVEL COUNSELING COURSES
Claire McLean
B.A., California State University, Chico, 2004
PROJECT
Submitted in partial satisfaction of
the requirements for the degree of
MASTER OF ARTS
in
PSYCHOLOGY
(Counseling Psychology)
at
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO
SPRING
2010
MULTICULTURAL INFUSION OF GRADUATE LEVEL COUNSELING COURSES
A Project
by
Claire McLean
Approved by:
__________________________________, Committee Chair
Marya Endriga, Ph.D.
__________________________________, Second Reader
Larry Meyers, Ph.D.
____________________________
Date
ii
Student: Claire McLean
I certify that this student has met the requirements for format contained in the University
format manual, and that this project is suitable for shelving in the Library and credit is to
be awarded for the Project.
__________________________, Graduate Coordinator
Lisa M. Bohon, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology
iii
________________
Date
Abstract
of
MULTICULTURAL INFUSION OF GRADUATE LEVEL COUNSELING COURSES
by
Claire McLean
The changing cultural composition in the United States has contributed to the
acknowledgment of the need for the counseling profession to develop multicultural
perspectives and competencies. However, research shows that current counselor training
programs are significantly inadequate in dealing with multicultural issues and preparing
students for work with a diverse client base. For therapists to address effectively and
appropriately the mental health concerns of their culturally diverse clients, it is essential
that they receive sufficient training. This project addresses the need for multicultural
infusion into graduate level counseling courses by providing a compendium of
multicultural exercises. Current literature was reviewed and experiential activities were
chosen based on four inclusion criteria. The compendium was created to guide professors
on infusing graduate courses with multiculturalism by incorporating activities that
address multicultural issues and topics pertinent to counselor training.
_______________________, Committee Chair
Marya Endriga, Ph.D.
_______________________
Date
iv
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
As the work on my project comes to an end, so does my graduate school experience.
While I sit here and reflect on the last four years, I am overwhelmed with feelings of
pride and excitement, but especially with feelings of gratitude. Gratitude for those whose
support and encouragement made this entire process possible. I would like to thank Dr.
Marya Endriga and Dr. Larry Meyers for the time and effort they put into my project,
helping me to accomplish my vision. I truly appreciate the help and support you have
given me over the years. I would also like to thank all of my family and friends for
believing in me. The endless encouragement, support and love made the last four years
possible and I could not have done it without all of you.
v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Acknowledgments..........................................................................................................v
List of Tables ............................................................................................................. viii
Chapter
1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................1
2. MULTICULTURAL INFUSION LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................4
Diversity of Clients Makes Multicultural Training and
Competence Necessary ......................................................................................4
Cultural and Personal Awareness ......................................................................4
Domains of Multicultural Counseling Competencies: Knowledge,
Awareness, and Skills ........................................................................................6
Limitations and Levels of Multicultural Competence .....................................10
Reasons for Feelings of Lack of Competence .................................................12
Acknowledgement of the Need for Multicultural Infusion .............................14
Challenges of Multicultural Infusion ...............................................................15
Approaches and Techniques Helpful with Teaching Multiculturalism ...........17
Experiential Activities in the Classroom .........................................................18
3. PURPOSE AND GOAL OF PROJECT ................................................................20
4. METHODS ............................................................................................................22
Researching of Literature .................................................................................22
Development of Compendium .........................................................................27
vi
5. RESULTS ..............................................................................................................30
6. DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................35
Appendix Compendium of Multicultural Exercises for Graduate Level
Counseling Courses .....................................................................................................39
References ............................................................................................................................... 85
vii
LIST OF TABLES
Page
1.
Table 1 Primary Resources Used for Project………………….……..………….24
2.
Table 2 Knowledge, Awareness and Skills Exercises of the Project
Compendium……………………………………………………...…………….32
viii
1
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
Despite the long history of warnings and recommendations concerning the need to
develop a multicultural perspective in the counseling profession and the need to
develop multicultural competencies and standards…[there is still a] serious lack
and inadequacy of training programs in dealing with racial, ethnic and cultural
matters (Sue and Arredondo, 1992, p.477).
Today there is an increasing need for multicultural training of mental health counselors
with the United States becoming more multiethnic, multilingual, and multicultural than at
any other time in history. Currently 65.6% of Americans are White, 12.8% are African
American, 4.5% are Asian, .2% are Pacific Islander, 15.4% are Hispanic/Latino, and 1%
are American Indian (U.S. Census Bureau, 2008). By the year 2050, it is expected that
only 53% of the population will be White, while 25% will be Latino, 14% will be African
American, 8% will be Asian Pacific Americans, and 1% will be American Indian (Abreu,
Gim-Chung, & Atkinson, 2000). While the demographics of the United States continue to
change rapidly, new and different challenges will face counselors in training, counselors,
and educators. According to D’Andrea, Daniels, and Heck (1991), the challenges of the
changing demographics are rooted in a growing awareness that the United States is
quickly being transformed into a country in which the majority of citizens come from a
variety of minority groups. It is important to note that while the number of ethnic
minority groups increase, clients from these groups tend not to utilize counseling services
and if they do, they tend to prematurely terminate counseling services at a higher rate
2
(Abreu et al., 2000; Henricksen and Trusty, 2005). Hill (2003) argues that the
underutilization of services may be due to lack of counselor knowledge regarding the
worldview of the client, as well as their use of culturally inappropriate approaches and
interventions. The change in cultural composition of the United States has required
counselor training programs to become more aware and knowledgeable about
multicultural issues because trainees are exposed to more culturally diverse clients. It is
also imperative for therapists in training to receive sufficient training so that they can
effectively address the mental health concerns of our diverse society (Hill, 2003; Neville,
Heppner, Louie, Thompson, Brooks, and Baker, 1996). As an answer to the changing
demographics of our country and the complexities of working with diverse clients, ethical
mandates and American Psychological Association (APA) accreditation criteria have
been established to help ensure that counselor trainees receive comprehensive training on
research, theories, and practice with various ethnic, racial, and cultural populations
(Neville et al., 1996). By increasing the inclusion of diversity in counselor training, future
counselors will be better able to recognize values that are inherent to different groups.
The purpose of this project is to address the need for multicultural infusion into
graduate level counseling courses, by creating a compendium of experiential activities.
While most counseling training programs and professors recognize the need for more
training on multicultural issues; there appears to be a lack of information available on
how to make the necessary changes to curriculum and program structure. This project and
the compendium were developed in hopes of providing valuable information and some
3
guidance on how changes can be made and why it is important to the counseling
profession. The compendium provides specific ideas and examples of how multicultural
issues and topics can be incorporated into various counseling courses.
4
Chapter 2
MULTICULTURAL INFUSION LITERATURE REVIEW
Diversity of Clients Makes Multicultural Training and Competence Necessary
When examining culture it is important to acknowledge that culture is not only
external, but also within a person and it cannot be separated from other learned
competencies. Consequently, the development of multicultural awareness is considered
not only a professional obligation but it is also an opportunity for counselors to become
more adequately trained (Pedersen, 2004). Culture can be broadly defined to include
ethnographic, demographic, status, and affiliation variables, which demonstrate that
every counseling student can expect to work in multicultural contexts with diverse client
populations (Pedersen, 2004). Multicultural training is important and necessary because
many clients from different cultural backgrounds tend to express their symptomatology
differently. They also tend to function differently within the counseling context, as well
as subscribe to different norms and ideas regarding counseling interventions and
treatment options (Hill, 2003). Counseling is now considered to be a dynamic and culture
bound experience and with counselors providing more and more services to culturally
diverse populations, it is imperative that counselor trainees develop multicultural
competencies (Hill, 2003).
Cultural and Personal Awareness
While therapists in training and practicing therapists need to master the basic
skills of counseling, they also need to be able to see themselves as part of society, which
5
is made up of individuals with diverse needs and ideas (Henricksen and Trusty, 2005).
Multicultural competence may be achieved through education and training, which allows
one to understand his or her own culture and the ways in which cultural identities can
affect relationships, including the client and therapist relationship (Midgette & Meggert,
1991). Multicultural training is designed to stretch trainees’ awareness and expand their
knowledge and range of counseling competencies. When therapists expand their own
knowledge and competencies, they are able to work more effectively with their clients
(D’Andrea and Daniels, 1991).
Midgette and Meggert (1991) explain that the goal of multicultural counseling
training is to increase counselor’s “intentionality through increasing the person’s
purposive control over the assumptions that guide his or her behavior, attitudes and
insight” (p.138). What multicultural counseling training does is allow counselors to
understand both the complexities of culture and the ways in which cultural identities
affect their relationships with others. Research does in fact show that greater exposure to
multicultural training is associated with increased levels of therapy competencies,
specifically personal biases, knowledge about and skills working with diverse
populations, and awareness of one’s own culture (Neville et al., 1996). With multicultural
training, counselor trainees can expect that their awareness of their own and other’s
cultural biases will increase by becoming familiar with the research that is available on
cross cultural counseling. Counselors can also increase their awareness by learning
specific skills that will help them to work more effectively with clients who are culturally
6
different from them. With multicultural training, trainees can gain insight how different
cultures define counseling, learn to identify the cultural biases and prejudices that exist in
our society, and learn how to “respect cultural diversity across boundaries of nationality,
ethnicity, age, gender, socioeconomic status, and other affiliations” (Pedersen, 2000,
p.87-88).
Domains of Multicultural Counseling Competencies:
Knowledge, Awareness and Skills
Knowledge, awareness, and skills are the three domains of multicultural
counseling competence (Sue, 2001). Arthur and Achenbach (2002) argue that if the focus
of multicultural training remains only on the domains of skills and knowledge, students
may actually distance themselves from cultural issues by emphasizing the lives of others
and then not reflecting on their own lives. This is why knowledge, skills, and awareness
are considered valuable to the multicultural training process and why multicultural
training programs are based on these three domains.
Multicultural education and training promotes an understanding of self, others,
and society through awareness, knowledge, and skills (Hill, 2003; Sue & Sue, 2003).
Increasing one’s self-awareness is a goal of multicultural training because it can help
students to develop competencies in other domains and helps them to translate learning
into professional practice. Having students engage in an in-depth assessment of
themselves and others, coupled with cultural knowledge and skill development is an
effective method for multicultural education. By infusing and integrating course work
7
with experiential learning activities, multicultural issues, and multicultural models;
multicultural awareness, knowledge, and skills are promoted (Hill, 2003).
Knowledge
The first dimension of multicultural competence is knowledge. A culturally
competent therapist is one who actively attempts to understand the worldview of
culturally different clients, as well as gain knowledge about the cultural group the client
identifies with. Therapists should possess knowledge and information specific to the
particular cultural group they are working with (Sue, Arredondo, McDavis, 1992). This
would include being aware and knowledgeable about the history, experiences, lifestyles,
family structures, community and cultural values; and how these areas might affect the
lives and mental health of their clients. A culturally competent counselor will also
understand the impact of oppression and how politics and racist, sexist and homophobic
concepts have influenced the mental health profession (Sue & Sue, 2003). “Although this
standard applies to all groups, for White counselors it may mean that they understand
how they may have directly or indirectly benefitted from individual…and cultural
racism” (Sue et al., 1992, p.482). A therapist should have a clear knowledge and
understanding of the generic characteristics of counseling including culture-bound values,
class-bound values, and language features of psychological help (Sue, 2001). Culturally
skilled therapists will also understand how culture, ethnicity, and race can affect
personality, manifestation of psychological disorders, help-seeking behavior, and the
appropriateness or inappropriateness of counseling approaches. A knowledgeable
8
therapist will also realize the institutional barriers that might prevent some diverse clients
from seeking and using mental health services. Important factors include the languages
used, the hours of operation, the location of the agency, the formality or informality of
the atmosphere, and the services offered. Culturally competent therapists will also
possess knowledge about their social impact on other people. They are knowledgeable
about the different styles of communication and how their style may actually clash or
facilitate the counseling process with their ethnic minority clients. They are also able to
anticipate how the communication differences may impact others (Sue et al., 1992).
Awareness
Multicultural awareness develops through the process of one’s own assumptions
regarding behavior, preconceived notions and personal limitations. Awareness involves
understanding one’s personal worldview and recognizing that we are all a product of
cultural conditioning (Holcomb-McCoy and Myers, 1999). A culturally competent
mental health professional is someone who has become culturally aware and sensitive to
his or her own cultural heritage and respecting differences of other cultural groups (Sue et
al., 1992). Culturally competent therapists are aware of how their experiences and biases
may affect minority clients and the influence it may have on the psychological process.
To achieve this level of competence, therapists should actively challenge their
assumptions and monitor their biases through supervision and continuing education (Sue
& Sue, 2003). Therapists who are culturally competent are more comfortable with
differences that exist between themselves and their clients of a different race, gender,
9
sexual orientation, etc. Multiculturally competent therapists will also respect their clients’
religious and spiritual beliefs regarding mental functioning and health. Being
multiculturally aware means valuing their client’s indigenous helping practices and
respecting minority community intrinsic help-giving networks (Sue et al., 1992).
Culturally competent therapists are aware of their limitations in multicultural
counseling/training and will refer a client to another therapist when those limitations
interfere with their therapeutic abilities. Being aware of one’s sexist, racist and other
negative feelings and beliefs and dealing with them in a nondefensive and guilt-free
manner is another component of becoming a culturally competent therapist.
Skills
The third domain of cultural competence is the skills component, which is a
therapist’s ability to determine and use culturally appropriate intervention strategies when
working with different clients from various cultural groups. This includes learning a
variety of both verbal and nonverbal helping styles (Sue, 2001). A therapist should be
able to communicate their thoughts and feelings to their clients, but they should also have
the ability to read the messages, verbal and nonverbal, from their client. For a therapist to
achieve this level of culturally competency they should consider the cultural cues that
come up during therapy.
In addition, a culturally competent therapist should be aware of his or her
limitations and helping styles and the impact that it may have on culturally different
clients (Sue & Sue, 2003). For counselors to become more culturally skilled they should
10
become actively involved with minority individuals outside of counseling settings (i.e.
friendships, political functions, community events, neighborhood events, etc.), so that the
perspective they have regarding minority groups is more than an academic or helping
exercise. In addition, culturally skilled therapists are not reluctant to seek consultation
with traditional, religious or spiritual leaders and practitioners while creating a treatment
plan for their culturally diverse clients (Sue et al., 1992). It is also important for a
therapist to be open to environmental interventions rather than becoming trapped into the
conventional counselor mode of operation. This would include acting as a resource
person, leaving their office to meet a client in their community and supporting indigenous
support systems.
Culturally skilled therapists will seek out educational and training experiences to
enrich their effectiveness and understanding in working with culturally different
populations. Counselors who are more culturally skilled are constantly seeking to
understand themselves as cultural and racial beings and actively seek a nonracist identity.
In addition, culturally skilled therapists will familiarize themselves with relevant and
current research on mental health issues of different types of cultural and ethnic groups
(Sue and Sue, 2003; Sue et al., 1992).
Limitations and Levels of Multicultural Competence
Henrick and Trusty (2005) discuss that preparing multiculturally competent
counselors is a complex process that “requires pedagogical strategies that permeate
counselor education curricula” (p.181). Literature indicates that effective counseling with
11
a diverse client base requires that both students and counselor educators learn and
integrate knowledge regarding their own cultures and the cultures that they may serve. If
counselors do not gain this knowledge, they will not have the ability to work effectively
with their clients who are culturally different and who have different values from those of
the majority of society.
However, even with the acknowledgment and findings that multicultural training
is a necessity; studies have shown that psychology and counselor trainees and therapists
both have low levels of multicultural competence and often feel unprepared when
working with clients of different cultural backgrounds (Hill, 2003; Arthur and
Achenbach, 2002). In 1994, a study of 289 therapists found that very few of the
respondents indicated feeling high levels of competence with providing services to clients
from various ethnic and cultural groups. When asked if their coursework addressed issues
regarding diverse populations, 46.3% of students responded that such material was
infrequently covered or never covered (5%), with only 19.7% of respondents indicated
that the topics were usually (17%) or always included (2.7%) (Allison, Crawford,
Echemendia, Robinson, and Knepp, 1994, p.794). The authors reported that while many
of the respondents indicated that the resources within their graduate training programs
were limited, over 70% of the respondents indicated that they also received additional
training regarding multicultural topics after receiving their degrees. Ducker and Tori
(2001) report that several surveys have found that while some graduates of clinical and
12
counseling programs felt competent in working with diverse populations, others do not
feel that they are competent to work with clients from diverse groups.
In 1999, Holcomb-McCoy and Myers surveyed 150 counselors and found that as
a group, most felt that they were multicultural competent. More specifically, this group of
counselors reported that they felt most competent with awareness and skills and less
competent regarding knowledge and racial identity dimensions. While these counselors
perceived themselves to be multiculturally competent, most reported that their
multicultural training was less than adequate. The authors pose the question, where and
when do counselors acquire their multicultural competence, if not during their training
programs? “The results of this study seem to suggest that counselors are acquiring their
multicultural competence through postdegree work with culturally different clients rather
than through graduate course work” (Holcomb-McCoy and Myers, 1999, p.299). Fouad
and Arredondo (2007), however, cite studies that have found that cultured centered
education increases student’s self awareness, knowledge and skills in multicultural
counseling, and it actually increases their therapeutic competence.
Reasons for Feelings of Lack of Competence
One reason for the lack of competence felt by both professionals and trainees
could be due to the traditional ways in which multiculturalism is taught in the field of
counseling and psychology. Sue et al. (1992) note that there is a large body of literature
which documents the widespread ineffectiveness of the traditional counseling approaches
and techniques when working with minority populations. The apparent reason for the
13
therapeutic ineffectiveness lies in the training that mental health professionals are (or are
not) receiving. According to Pope-Davis et al. (2003), a large majority of counseling
multicultural courses are taught from a more traditional perspective often focusing on
specific minority groups, while ignoring self-evaluation of power and discrimination.
Often, psychology/counseling departments simply offer a separate course in
multicultural counseling, rather than incorporating multiculturalism awareness into all
program courses. It has been argued that this approach does not actually meet the
minimum requirement to fulfill the standards for the teaching of cultural competencies
that have been set by the APA (Midgette and Meggert, 1991). With the traditional single
course offering, the focus tends to begin with the history of the discrimination
experienced by minority populations, then focusing on how the history developed
discriminatory practices, followed by “cursory exposure to the theories of worldview,
identity, and acculturation. This process is usually followed with exposure to the
knowledge base of the multicultural competencies and how they are applied to the field
of counseling and psychology” (Pope-Davis et al., 2003, p.550). Typically, different
activities are interspersed throughout the multicultural curriculum, which often results in
superficial knowledge and politically correct responses to the different issues that are
discussed. Some suggest that students become well versed on how to talk about diversity
issues from an intellectual level of understanding with the somewhat stereotypic views
that are presented in the curriculum (Vazquez and Garcia-Vazquez, 2003). Some students
walk away from their multicultural psychology experience believing that addressing
14
issues regarding culture is a “politically correct” response in support of minority students,
while others may look at it as a waste of time and unnecessary. Other students may feel
that what they have learned in the class has made them competent enough to work with
minority populations. Vazquez and Garcia-Vazquez (2003) found that most students in
the United States who have taken a multicultural course, have not learned enough to
actually be competent; rather they have learned enough to develop a false sense of
security in practicing with minority populations.
Acknowledgment of the Need for Multicultural Infusion
According to Fouad and Arredondo (2007), over the past 30 years many
universities and programs have been working towards infusing multiculturalism into both
counselor education and training. Programs and educators have acknowledged and been
working towards multicultural infusion rather than the single course traditional approach
to multicultural training. Fouad and Arredondo (2007) explain that culture-centered
educational practices are based on two fundamental influences. First is the idea that the
best practitioners and educators are products of a culture-centered approach and that
students need to be prepared to work and succeed in a culturally competent manner.
Many educators, however, are increasingly coming to believe that traditional approaches
to multicultural infusion tend to “favor” White, middle class students. These educators
also feel that there is a need for new and different strategies and approaches to learning so
that students will be better equipped when they graduate and begin to practice.
15
The second influence on the development of culture centered education programs
is an increasing sense that institutions of higher learning are responsible for creating an
environment that is committed to valuing diversity. While some programs may be
reluctant to make effective changes, it is the opinion of many that it is the educators of
psychology who have the ethical responsibility to foster the understanding of the
complexity of discrimination and power in the teaching of psychology across a variety of
disciplines. “To be pedagogically objective, professors must be able to thoroughly
understand and apply the multicultural theories in a self-reflective process, as well as
teach the students how to understand and experience these theories” (Vazquez and Garcia
Vazquez in Pope-Davis et al., 2003, p.549). Hill (2003) argues that the challenge to
integrate curricula, both practically and philosophically rests largely with counselor
educators. Multicultural competencies, if incorporated appropriately, will “transcend the
context of one course and one faculty member” (Hill, 2003, p.47).
Challenges of Multicultural Infusion
While most parties involved acknowledge the need and obligation for
multicultural training, current research and literature has proven, however, that
psychology programs and faculty members are often reluctant to make changes to their
programs and courses (Stadler, Suh, Cobia, Middleton, and Carney, 2006; Pope-Davis et
al., 2003; Hill, 2003; Ducker and Tori, 2001). Reasons for hesitation and unwillingness
often include faculty attitudes (i.e. fear of examining and confronting one’s own biases,
prejudices and worldview) (Midgette and Meggert, 1991; Hartung, 1996), lack of
16
qualified educators (Midgette and Meggert, 1991; Hill, 2003), confusion as to how to
develop multicultural competence on a comprehensive basis (Ponterotto et al., 1995),
lack of guidance and direction on how to address multicultural issues in an orderly and
comprehensive manner (Ponterotto et al., 1995).
Along with reluctant attitudes, there are also many challenges to teaching
multicultural counseling courses (Pedersen, 2004). To begin, many students have yet to
have much interaction with people from cultural backgrounds different from their own.
Therefore, there may be few opportunities for students to get to know culturally different
people, let alone opportunities to share personal feelings and experiences. A second
reason why teaching courses dealing with culture and diversity can be difficult is that
often the concepts are completely new to many of the students. Pedersen (2004) explains
that there will likely be few students who have had experiences with the concepts being
introduced in such a class. It is important yet challenging to create a safe and inclusive
environment for the students so that they feel like they are respected, included, as well as
protected (Fouad and Arredondo, 2007). This includes professors getting to know their
students as individuals, reminding students to address other students’ viewpoints and
ideas rather than to attack them, and making it acceptable to express differing viewpoints.
Another challenge for educators is creating a set of “classroom rules”, which might
include challenging each other in a respectful manner, speaking from your own
experiences, respecting confidentiality, and sharing only what they are comfortable
sharing (Fouad and Arredondo, 2007).
17
Approaches and Techniques Helpful with Teaching Multiculturalism
While there are challenges to teaching a multicultural course, there are approaches
and techniques that make the process less difficult and more appropriate. Experiential
learning techniques have been found to be quite effective in helping students to better
understand different cultures, clients, and themselves. Research has shown that
counselors in training identify experiential activities as the most critical element of the
learning process. Vazquez and Garcia-Vazquez (2003) argue that experiential based
multicultural education is a definite requirement of multicultural training. They believe
that experiential learning is the basis for self-exploration and self-awareness. By being
actively engaged in the learning process, students are more likely to understand and
remember course material (Alvarez and Miville, 2003). Experiential learning can be used
to help raise trainees’ awareness about cultural issues, to challenge their personal ideas
about cultural diversity, and to help them develop cultural empathy (Arthur and
Achenbach, 2002). However, experiential learning is not intended to imitate someone
else’s exact experience; rather the intention is to help trainees develop awareness and
accuracy of understanding the viewpoints of others and to move them out of a “culturally
encapsulated view of the world” (Arthur and Achenbach, 2002, p.4). Experiential
learning (i.e. activities) is considered effective because students are able to experience
cultural differences and similarities through the process. By participating in activities,
discussions and reflection exercises, students are able to examine their worldview and
cognitive structures that influence their experiences. Experiential learning also
18
encourages students to consider how cultural contexts have influenced their behaviors,
beliefs, and attitudes and to also reflect on the impact of these influences on their
professional role as therapists. It is believed that students need experiences to help them
bring feelings, values, and attitudes to the surface. Multicultural activities can help to
promote counselor trainees’ self-awareness by demonstrating how thoughts and feelings
truly do influence the counseling experience. Experiential learning techniques facilitate
students’ experiences of cultural issues in a structured environment with low levels of
risk. This allows students to process new information and different feelings that may
arise, before working with culturally diverse clients (Arthur and Achenbach, 2002, p.5).
Experiential Activities in the Classroom
When choosing experiential exercises and activities, educators have a
responsibility to select ones that are both useful and appropriate (Arthur and Achenbach,
2002). Multicultural educators should carefully consider the different activities and
exercises that are available, focusing on their purpose and connection to the development
of multicultural counseling competencies. Because multicultural activities can bring up
difficult emotions, it is extremely important that educators not only choose the activities
carefully, but they should also always leave time for debriefing. Debriefing allows time
for both students and educators to discuss their reactions to the activity, thoughts and
feelings that it brought up for them, how they feel it relates to counseling, and allows for
students to support one another in their personal discoveries (Pedersen, 2004). When
choosing experiential activities, educators should keep the students and their learning
19
needs in mind. Professors should determine if the activity would be both appropriate and
effective with the group of students they would be using it with (Arthur and Achenbach,
2002; Pedersen, 2004).
20
Chapter 3
PURPOSE AND GOAL OF PROJECT
The goal of the current project is to provide educators and graduate counseling
psychology students with a compendium of activities that will aid in the process of
developing awareness, skills, knowledge and sensitivity when working with clients of
diverse cultural backgrounds. This goal was achieved by expanding on the available
multicultural infusion activities for graduate level counseling psychology classes, as well
as by developing new activities based on the research findings of multicultural training
and infusion. The compendium is a larger effort to infuse multicultural issues into
counseling curriculum. Multicultural activities are the focus of this project because
research and current literature support experiential learning as an appropriate and
effective way to teach multiculturism for counselor trainees (Arthur and Achenbach,
2002; Vazquez and Garcia-Vazquez, 2003). By providing the revised and new activities,
professors will have creative and different ways of incorporating multicultural issues into
their counseling psychology graduate courses.
Many of the cited activities are more than just simulations, structured roleplaying, or exercises; rather they are “experiences” which aim to increase interactive
learning with both culturally different people in the classroom and between students and
the multicultural community outside of the classroom (Pedersen, 2004). The provided
activities will also assist educators in their need for direction and guidance with
incorporating multicultural issues into their psychology courses. Infusing multicultural
21
training and activities into all counseling courses will expose trainees to multicultural
issues of different counseling scenarios, which in turn will better prepare them to not only
be more competent when working with minority groups, but to also develop a better
understanding and connection with their clients. The provided activities attempt to be a
middle ground for educators: they can be used in various types of counseling courses,
bringing multicultural issues into all aspects of counseling, without requiring a complete
course overhaul while at the same time providing trainees with the necessary tools and
information.
22
Chapter 4
METHODS
Researching of Literature
The process of researching for this project began with electronic searches, using
the California State University, Sacramento Library research portal. Using PsycINFO of
EBSCOhost and EUREKA, the following terms were used to search for appropriate and
relevant journal articles and books: counseling, counseling and development, counseling
courses, counselor education, counselor trainees, cultural competence, cultural
educators, experiential learning, multiculturalism, multicultural infusion, multicultural
counseling, multicultural counseling preparation, multicultural counseling training,
multicultural classroom activities, multicultural learning psychology, pedagogy, teaching
multiculturalism, training of counselors, and training programs. These terms were used
separately, as well as in conjunction with each other to help narrow the results. Resources
for this project were also found by referring to the references of current and relevant
journal articles. Again, PsycINFO of EBSCOhost was used to search for the articles and
books, using author name, title and date as the search terms.
The above mentioned search provided a wide variety of resources, both journal
articles and books. As a result of the search, approximately 65 books and journal articles
were reviewed and consulted. The pool of information and resources provided was quite
diverse with journal articles ranging from multiculturalism in general to multicultural
counseling training. There were also many books; some addressing culture and the role it
23
plays in people’s lives to books that provided activities for counseling educators to
incorporate in the classroom. After reviewing the resources, many were found to be
relevant and applicable, while some were not appropriate for this particular project. More
specifically, the majority of books and articles discussing multicultural activities for the
classroom focused on elementary and secondary classrooms (K-12). While reviewing the
elementary specific resources, there were some activities that could be relevant for
graduate level courses, with some modifications. The process of modifying the activities
found in the compendium is described below. In addition to the resources mentioned
above, experiential activities were gathered through discussions with the project chair,
who provided ideas for activities based on many years of experience in multicultural
counselor training (M. Endriga, personal communication).
Table 1 is representative of the primary resources I found to be both relevant and
appropriate to my research and project. These primary resources provided essential
information regarding multiculturalism, contained usable and appropriate activities, were
specific to graduate counseling courses and curriculum, and discussed the importance of
multicultural training of graduate students. While this table is not a complete list of
resources that were found and used for this project, it is representative of the articles and
books that were primarily used.
24
Table 1
Primary Resources Used for Project
Search Terms
Multicultural Learning
Author, Date and
Title
Pedersen, P.
Book or Journal
Article
Book
Contributions to the
Project
Provided examples
(2004). 110
of appropriate
Experiences for
experiential
Multicultural
activities
Learning.
Multicultural
Hill, N.R.
Competence and
(2003).
of multicultural
Counselor Trainee
Promoting and
infusion and
celebrating
examples of how to
multicultural
infuse counseling
competence in
programs
counselor
trainees.
Journal Article
Addressed the need
25
Search Terms
Author, Date and Title
Book or Journal
Article
Journal Article
Contributions to the
Project
Multicultural
Midgette, T. &
Counseling and
Meggert, S. (1991).
challenge of and
Instruction
Multicultural
need for
counseling instruction:
multicultural
A challenge for
infusion in
faculties in the 21st
counseling
century.
programs
Journal Article
Examined the
Multicultural
Arthur, N. &
Discussed the
Counseling and
Achenbach, K. (2002).
various aspects of
Experiential
Developing
experiential learning
Learning
multicultural
and provided
counseling
evidence to support
competencies
its importance and
through experiential
value to
learning.
multicultural
counseling training
26
Search Terms
Author, Date and
Title
Multicultural and
Roysircar,G.,
Competence
Sandhu,D. &
Book or Journal
Article
Book
Contributions to the
Project
Included examples
of possible activities
Bibbins,V. (2003).
Multicultural
Competencies: A
guidebook of
Practices
Multicultural and
Schoem,D.,
Teaching
Frankel,L.,
Zuniga,X. &
Lewis,E. (1993).
Multicultural
Teaching in the
University
Book
Provided examples
of possible activities
27
Development of Compendium
After reviewing current and pertinent literature about multiculturalism, cultural
competency, and graduate level activities, a compendium of multicultural activities for
counseling graduate courses was created. The activities were chosen and revised based on
a number of criteria. The first criterion for including activities in the compendium was
based on the Knowledge, Awareness and Skills Model (KAS) of multiculturalism. As
discussed previously knowledge, awareness and skills are three essential components of
multicultural training and competency which is why activities needed to “fit” one or more
of the KAS Model domains. Each activity was reviewed to determine which domain(s) it
addressed and was incorporated in the appropriate section of the compendium. The
second criterion for inclusion of activities was that activities must be appropriate for a
graduate level counseling course. Activities needed to be both cognitively and
academically appropriate to the training level of graduate students. The majority of the
activities found in current literature were aimed at younger students (grades K-12). Many
of the included activities were revised and reworked to make them more suitable for
graduate level counseling students.
The third criterion for selecting activities was based on the concepts of appeal and
interest. Activities were chosen based on how interesting and relevant graduate level
counseling students might find them. I used my own experience and knowledge regarding
different types of activities when making the selections and revising the activities. The
fourth, and final, criterion was to choose and/or modify activities that were specific to
28
counseling courses. While much of the current literature contained general multicultural
infusion activities, I searched for activities that were appropriate to counseling and
multiculturalism. Some of the included activities did not require any revisions, while
some required modifications to make them relevant to counseling courses.
Based on the above mentioned criteria, exercises were selected and restructured
so that they addressed the need to increase students’ knowledge of different cultural
groups, including historical background and worldviews. In addition, exercises needed to
help expand student knowledge regarding how different cultures affect mental health, but
also influence the therapeutic process. Exercises were chosen based on the use of selfreflective strategies to increase multicultural awareness among students. With the
inclusion criteria in mind, exercises also were chosen based on their ability to increase
multicultural awareness and to provide students with opportunities to explore their family
history and how it may impact their therapeutic style as a therapist. It was also important
that the exercises allow students to examine how their culture and ethnicity influence
their identity and give students an opportunity to gain a better understanding that similar
behaviors can have different meanings for various cultures. The included exercises also
needed to provide opportunities for discussions on multicultural issues and experiences of
the students. Some exercises were chosen because they provided an opportunity to track
how different cultural groups are portrayed and perceived by society, which will expand
students’ cultural awareness. Selected exercises also needed to provide students with an
opportunity to examine their abilities with multicultural skills, expose them to topics and
29
issues they have not dealt with before, and give them an opportunity to look at how
different cultures view presenting mental health problems. Based on the inclusion
criteria, exercises which used roles plays to help students practice their therapeutic skills
were also included.
As mentioned above, many of the compendium activities needed to be revised so
that they were more specific to counseling, multiculturalism and the KAS Model. In
addition, activities required modifications to address copyright issues. To address these
concerns the general themes, particular steps and objectives were modified creating
activities which were more appropriate for the training of counselor graduate students.
Additionally, many of the activities were re-formatted with an Objective, Procedure, and
Debriefing/Discussion section so that all the activities were structured the same way.
Having the activities broken down into the three sections not only made them more
cohesive, but also easier for instructors and students to follow. In addition to the above
mentioned modifications, the activities were also restructured into a narrative form rather
than a step-by-step process, with the source provided. This provides instructors with an
opportunity to have a general idea of what the activity consists of and what it entails.
Providing the source allows instructors to reference back to the original activity for a
more complete guide on how to run the activity in the classroom.
30
Chapter 5
RESULTS
A methodical review of current literature on multicultural issues and counseling
training programs and an examination of experiential classroom activities resulted in the
development of a compendium of exercises appropriate for the training and education of
graduate level counseling students. The compendium consists of 22 experiential activities
based on the Knowledge, Awareness and Skills model. Four of the exercises address the
Knowledge domain, 13 exercises makeup the Awareness domain of the compendium,
and five activities complete the Skills domain. While the activities vary in their content
and purpose, they were restructured and rewritten so each would have a similar format.
By changing the format of the exercises, the compendium became more congruent and
applicable.
The Knowledge section includes exercises which educate students on
multicultural issues through reading of books, case studies, journal articles, as well as
watching videos regarding multicultural issues within our society. The exercises in the
Awareness domain provide students with opportunities to explore their family history and
how it may impact their therapeutic style as a therapist. Some of the exercises address the
difficulties of listening to a person’s feelings regarding their culture and retelling those
feelings without projecting their own interpretations into it. Exercises in the Awareness
domain also examine the sex-role stereotypes in current children’s books and how
students and their clients may have been influenced by those stereotypes, also giving
31
students a chance to look at how communication differs amongst the different cultural
groups. Many of the exercises in the Awareness section include questions which provide
students with an opportunity to discuss personal experiences with culture, values of their
culture, and how cultural issues and experiences can influence their therapeutic work.
Questions also address differences that may exist when working with clients of diverse
backgrounds, the challenges which culturally different groups might face, and how
differences and issues can be discussed in a therapeutic setting. The exercises of the
Skills section aim to prepare students to listen and pay attention to nonverbal cues of
clients and give students an opportunity to reflect on how they would handle
multicultural issues and topics that may surface during therapy sessions Other exercises
in the Skills section use questionnaires to assess the students’ multicultural skills and
knowledge and provide opportunities to discuss how one may go about increasing both
their knowledge and skills with working with culturally diverse clients. The exercises
also allow students to hear the unspoken self-talk that clients may be thinking but are not
verbalizing and as a therapist how they might monitor their own internal dialogue as well.
Table 2 provides a complete list of the exercises in the compendium.
32
Table 2
Knowledge, Awareness and Skills Exercises of the Project Compendium
KAS Domain
Knowledge
Exercise Name and Number
Exercise #1: Culture Presentations
Exercise #2: Guest Speakers
Exercise #3: Readings
Exercise #4: Multicultural Videos
Awareness
Exercise #5: Writing
Exercise #6: Cultural Genogram
Exercise #7: What Other People Say,
Feel and Mean
Exercise #8: “How Ethnic Am I”
Exercise #9: Finding Common Ground in
an Argument
Exercise #10: Fishbowl
Exercise #11: Simulations
Exercise #12: Identity Tracking
Exercise #13: Analyzing Sexism in
Children’s Books
33
KAS Domain
Awareness
Exercise Name and Number
Exercise #14: “What Stands Between
Us” Diversity Conversation Flash
Cards
Exercise #15: Multiple Roles and
Multiple Choice Exercise
Exercise #16: Concentric Circles
Exercise #17: Importance of Key Words
In a Transcript
Skills
Exercise #18: Critical Incidents
Exercise #19: Pedersen’s Triad Training
Model
Exercise #20: A Self-Assessment of
Multicultural Awareness, Knowledge,
and Skill
Exercise: #21: Role Plays
34
KAS Domain
Exercise Name and Number
Exercise #22: The Interpersonal,
Intercultural, Psychopathological (IIP)
Questionnaire
35
Chapter 6
DISCUSSION
After a thorough review of current literature, it was evident that there was a lack
of information available, specifically regarding how to infuse multicultural issues into
graduate level counseling curricula. The review of research confirmed the need for
experiential activities appropriate for the training of graduate level counseling students.
In an attempt to address the need for multicultural infusion, a compendium was created
resulting in 22 experiential activities appropriate for graduate level counseling courses
based on the Knowledge, Awareness and Skills model. The compendium of activities was
developed in an effort to provide instructors with information and ideas on how
incorporate multicultural issues and topics to their graduate level counseling courses;
giving students an opportunity to expand their knowledge and skills and increase their
multicultural awareness. This in turn, will better prepare students for their work with
culturally diverse clients and allow them to become more compassionate and effective
therapists.
A strength of the project was its purpose of contributing to the much needed
multicultural infusion of graduate counseling courses. This project provides instructors
with ideas and specific examples on how to infuse their courses with multicultural
activities which are necessary for the training of their students. In addition, the project
applied the Knowledge, Awareness and Skills model of multicultural counselor education
as an organizational framework in order for instructors to better match activities to
36
learning goals. Another original contribution was the modification of several of the
activities to make them more specifically applicable to graduate level counselor
education.
After reviewing this project and the methods involved, there are a few limitations
which are important to discuss. To begin, it would have been beneficial to have two or
three people reviewing the current literature on multiculturalism and selecting the
activities for the compendium. Having multiple reviewers with differing views and
opinions allows for a wider range of activities and the opportunity to select activities
using a consensus and discussion method. By having only one reviewer for this project
there is the potential that some exercises were inadvertently overlooked or excluded
during the selection process. The number of activities for each of the Knowledge,
Awareness and Skills domains might also be considered a limitation of this project. After
reviewing the compendium, the activities are not equally dispersed amongst the KAS
domains. Perhaps in the future more activities can be added and adjustments can be made
to address the need for equal numbers of activities per domain. Another limitation to this
project is that it has yet to be “tested” or reviewed by outside sources. Having professors,
graduate counseling students and therapists from the community review the compendium
of activities would help strengthen the validity of this project. Respondents would have
an opportunity to express their opinions regarding the activities; more specifically what
they liked/disliked, strengths/limitations to the exercise, changes that could be made,
effectiveness of the exercise and appropriateness of the exercise for the target group.
37
Lastly, the way in which the methods of the project were recorded can be considered a
limitation. The review of current literature, the specific resources which were excluded,
and the exact number and details of the resources consulted and reviewed should have
been collected and recorded in a more quantitative manner. This would have contributed
to the strength of the project, as well as, made the project methods more easily replicable.
Further steps are necessary to address the limitations previously discussed and to
enhance the validity of the project. The first step would be for this project to have a
“Pilot” run. If I were to pilot this project I would first create a scale for current graduate
counseling students to review and rate the activities in the compendium. This would
provide feedback from other graduate students, as well as provide an opportunity for
students to report which activities they preferred or disliked. To gain a different
perspective I might also have students review and rate excluded activities and compare
the ratings. The second step in piloting this project would involve multiple counseling
instructors utilizing the compendium in their classes. Having instructors use the exercises
would be extremely beneficial because they could provide feedback on the value of the
exercises, what worked and what didn’t, what they liked, what they would change, and
gather responses from students. Similar to the review from graduate students, I would
have instructors complete a questionnaire to provide feedback on the process of
multicultural infusion and one the particular activities they tried. It would also be
important and necessary to continue to review current literature and add new exercises to
the compendium. The value of this project will increase with each additional exercise
38
because it will provide instructors with more options and opportunities to incorporate
multicultural topics and issues into their classrooms. Another possible future step for this
project would be to create a dissemination plan for the compendium. For example, I
could publish the compendium making it more readily available to graduate counseling
instructors and students. Another option for distribution of the compendium would be to
post it on the internet, making it available to an even larger audience. To publish the
compendium author permissions and copyright issues (i.e., from the original sources)
would need to be examined and addressed.
The purpose of this project was to introduce new and different ways
multiculturalism can be infused into all counseling psychology graduate courses. This
project is unique in that it addresses the needs and gaps of current training programs
through the development of a compendium of experiential activities. Currently, there are
few strategies and limited resources available that focus on those needs and gaps. My
goal was to provide enough information to help make the multicultural infusion process
seem less intimidating and more manageable for both educators and students. My hope is
that instructors find it useful and valuable to the training process and that students come
away feeling better prepared with a greater understanding and appreciation of the role
multiculturalism plays in the therapy process.
39
APPENDIX
Compendium of Multicultural Exercises for Graduate Level
Counseling Courses
40
Table of Contents
1. Knowledge……………………………………………………………………………42
Exercise #1: Culture Presentations ………………..…….………………………43
Exercise #2: Guest Speakers ........……………………………………………….45
Exercise #3: Readings ………………………..………………………………….47
Exercise #4: Multicultural Videos ……………………...……………………….48
2. Awareness…………………………………………………………………………….51
Exercise #5: Writing..............................................................................................52
Exercise #6: Cultural Genogram …………………………..…………………….53
Exercise #7: What Other People Say, Feel and Mean...........................................55
Exercise #8: “How Ethnic Am I”…………………..…………………………....57
Exercise #9: Finding Common Ground in an Argument…………………..…….59
Exercise #10: Fishbowl ..………………………………………………………...61
Exercise #11: Simulations ……………………………………………..………...63
Exercise #12: Identity Tracking …………………………………….…………...65
Exercise #13: Analyzing Sexism in Children’s Books……………...…………...66
41
Exercise #14: “What Stands Between Us” Diversity Conversation Flash
Cards ………………………………………………………………………..…...68
Exercise #15: Multiple Roles and Multiple Choice Exercise …………………...69
Exercise #16: Concentric Circles ………………………………………...……...71
Exercise #17: Importance of Key Words In a Transcript ………………..……...73
3. Skills.............................................................................................................................75
Exercise #18: Critical Incidents …….…………………………………………...76
Exercise #19: Pedersen’s Triad Training Model …………………...…………...78
Exercise #20: A Self-Assessment of Multicultural Awareness, Knowledge,
and Skill................................................................................................................80
Exercise #21: Role Plays ……………………………...………………………...82
Exercise #22: The Interpersonal, Intercultural, Psychopathological (IIP)
Questionnaire ………………………………………………….………………...83
42
Knowledge
43
Exercise #1: Culture Presentations
Objective: To increase student knowledge of different cultural groups, with specific
attention to the group’s historical background and worldviews and how they may affect
the mental health of its members. Also, students will gain insight and knowledge on how
they should approach therapy with clients of various cultural backgrounds.
Procedure: Assign students a cultural group to research and report on (i.e. Asian
Americans, Jewish American, Older Americans, Gay and Lesbians, etc.). Reports should
include information on the historical background of the group; description of the group’s
worldview (Sue & Sue, 2003), family values, and gender roles; mental health issues;
recommendations for culturally sensitive and relevant counseling with the group.
Debriefing and Discussion: Students who are not presenting should write down at least
two questions, thoughts, and/or observations of the presentation. Instructors should then
lead a class discussion, with the other students sharing their questions and thoughts
regarding the presentation and the cultural group that was presented. In addition,
instructors may want to focus the class discussion on therapy (i.e., how it might be to
work with the particular group, what issues that may arise for both the client and
therapist, etc.)
Source:
M. Endriga (personal communication, June 2007)
44
Sue, D. & Sue, D. (2003). Counseling the culturally diverse: Theory and practice. New
York: Sage Publications.
45
Exercise #2: Guest Speakers
Objective: To expand student’s cultural knowledge and awareness by inviting people
from the community to share their own cultural experiences. Pertinent to this exercise is
to include therapists who specialize in working with clients of culturally diverse
backgrounds; their experience and insight can increase the student’s knowledge not just
of culturally diverse people, but how to conduct therapy with them.
Procedure: Instructors should invite individuals of various cultures and different
backgrounds (i.e. students, instructors, prominent community figures, therapists, etc.) to
discuss personal experiences and knowledge of their culture and the culture of others.
Having therapists from the community speak is important because they can share their
experiences of working with culturally diverse clients (i.e. challenges that arose, issues
they may have noticed, client feedback, feelings that may have come up for them, etc.).
Debriefing and Discussion: At the end of class or the beginning of the next class,
instructors may want to have a class discussion regarding the guest speaker and the topics
that were covered. Students should be given the opportunity to share any feelings that
may have come up for them. Instructors should encourage students to think about the
issues that were discussed and issues they experienced in a therapeutic context. This can
give students an opportunity to think about what the guest speakers discussed and how
that may be a part of their counseling experience, which allows them to go beyond their
own personal reaction and think about it in a therapeutic way.
46
Source:
M. Endriga (personal communication, June 2007)
47
Exercise #3: Readings
Objective: To increase the multicultural knowledge of students through assigning
readings from case studies, narratives, fictional books, journal articles, or text books.
Procedure: Instructors can assign readings to do be done in class, which could be
followed by a class discussion or readings can be assigned to be completed outside of
class.
Debriefing and Discussion: After readings, conduct a classroom discussion regarding:
feelings that arose, any issues that came up for them while reading the material, new
ideas that emerged, what they learned regarding the specific cultural group in the reading.
Student’s knowledge can also be expanded by having them keep reflective journals,
which can increase their own multicultural awareness and experience.
Source:
M. Endriga (personal communication, June 2007)
48
Exercise #4: Multicultural Videos
Objective: Provides students with firsthand accounts from different multicultural groups
and the experiences of individuals who belong to that group.
Procedure: Instructors should choose videos that would increase student’s knowledge
and awareness of different multicultural groups, as well as increasing their knowledge of
how to conduct therapy with individuals from various cultural groups. The following
videos are recommended:

Color of Fear with Lee Mun Wah “is an insightful, groundbreaking film about the
state of race relations in America as seen through the eyes of eight North
American men of Asian, European, Latino and African descent”
(http://www.stirfryseminars.com/pages/detail/coloroffear_ind.html)

Voices (Daniel, Aden, Davidson, and Ellis), “interviews several diverse
individuals and how they have experienced their interactions with other people of
diversity. The interviews are honest, heartfelt experiences that student are more
apt to relate to in the classroom” (Vazquez and Vazquez, 2003, p.550)

Issues in Cross-Cultural Counseling, Specifics of Practice for Counseling
Latina/os, and Culturally Competent Counseling and Therapy: Live
Demonstrations of Innovative Approaches, “the simulated counseling vignettes on
these tapes provide case study material that can be analyzed from various points
of view, for example the influence of the culture of counseling on the counselor’s
49
style and approach, the client’s sense of ‘right and wrong’ based on a collectivist
worldview, socialization differences based on gender, the range of emotions
expressed by both counselors and clients, and the exploration of historical factors”
(Arredondo and Arciniega, 2001, p.268).
Debriefing and Discussion: Depending on what video is chosen, instructors may decide
to conduct a classroom discussion on the movie topic, key points, reactions from
students, issues that may have come up for them, observations, and how the video relates
to their futures as a therapist. Instructors may also want to have students chose a person
from the video and write a reflective paper on how it might be to have this person as their
client (i.e., what challenges might arise, what types of issues/problems might this client
be working on in therapy, what feelings might come up for the student as a therapist, how
the student might conduct therapy, etc.). This option would give the students an
opportunity to not only think about the multicultural issues brought up during the video,
but also allows them to put the video into a therapeutic context.
Sources:
Arredondo, P. & Arciniega, G. (2001). Strategies and techniques for counselor training
based on multicultural counseling competencies. Journal of Multicultural
Counseling & Development, 29, 236-273.
50
Vazquez, L.A. & Garcia-Vazquez, E. (2003). Teaching multicultural competence in the
counseling curriculum. In Pope-Davis, D.B., Coleman, H.L.K., Ming Liu, W., &
Toporek, R.L. (Eds.). Handbook of multicultural competencies in counseling and
psychology (p.546-561). Thousand Oaks, Ca: Sage Publications.
http://www.stirfryseminars.com/pages/detail/coloroffear_ind.html
51
Awareness
52
Exercise #5: Writing
Objective: Using self reflective strategies like journals, personal narratives, and cultural
autobiographies to encourage multicultural awareness among students.
Procedure: Instructors will have students keep journals, which gives them an
opportunity to reflect on class readings, class discussions, and personal experiences.
Journals can also provide students with a chance to write personal narratives about their
own cultural history and experiences. Instructors may also assign cultural
autobiographies, giving students an opportunity to write about their life and experiences
with culture. Guidelines and instructions should be provided by instructors, guiding
students on the issues and topics that should be reflected and covered.
Debriefing and Discussion: Instructors should provide students with feedback and
support with their self-reflections recorded in their journals and cultural autobiographies.
This can be done with instructor comments on the issues, feelings, and thoughts brought
up by the student. Instructors should also allow students an opportunity to discuss their
feelings and emotions regarding the exercise and how it was for them to self reflect and
write about their personal experiences.
Source:
M. Endriga (personal communication, June 2007)
53
Exercise #6: Cultural Genogram
Objective: Students trace family history with an emphasis on culture, while exploring
pride and shame issues connected to their family’s culture. This exercise allows students
an opportunity to become more aware of how their family’s history has influenced their
life. It also increases their cultural knowledge through their own exploration, as well as
the genograms of their classmates. Assists students in discovering and reflecting how
different cultural identities can impact the therapeutic style of the counselor and the
effectiveness of therapy.
Procedure: Students will define their culture(s) of origin and then identify the major
principles of their culture of origin. Prime and shame issues should be identified by
students through reflecting on personal experiences, interviewing family members, and
reviewing reference materials (due to self disclosure and privacy issues, students should
be given the option to not complete the pride and shames issues aspect of the exercise).
Symbols should be chosen to indicate pride and shame issues, as well as organizing
principles. Different colors should signify the different cultural groups that the student
identifies with. Students will need to create a key for interpreting the genogram by listing
the principles and pride and shame issues and their corresponding symbols. Instructors
should encourage students to go back at least 3 generations, if possible.
Debriefing and Discussion: Students can be given the opportunity to share their
genogram with the class or the instructor. This may be appealing to some so that they
54
may process their feelings and experiences regarding this exercise. However, some
students may not feel comfortable researching the genogram or sharing such personal
information. Instructors should have an alternative for students who may not want to
participate (i.e. read an appropriate book and write a paper that discusses and analyzes the
characters and their relationships).
Sources:
Vazquez, L.A. & Garcia-Vazquez, E. (2003). Teaching multicultural competence in the
counseling curriculum. In Pope-Davis, D.B., Coleman, H.L.K., Ming Liu, W., &
Toporek, R.L. (Eds.). Handbook of multicultural competencies in counseling and
psychology (p.546-561). Thousand Oaks, Ca: Sage Publications.
Hardy, K.V. & Laszloffy, T.A. (1995). The cultural genogram: Key to training culturally
competent family therapists. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 21, 227
237.
55
Exercise #7: What Other People Say, Feel, and Mean
Objective: Addresses the issues and difficulties of listening to a person’s feelings and
meanings regarding their culture and retelling those feelings without projecting some of
their own interpretations. The exercise gives students a chance to practice and become
comfortable with the idea that what some people hear and what other people meant can
turn out to be two entirely different things. Students have an opportunity to imagine being
a therapist, listening to a culturally diverse client and being open and receptive to what
the client is expressing about their culture, without their own thoughts and beliefs
influencing what they hear.
Procedure: The class should be split into two-person groups. One student will be the
speaker, one will be the listener. The speaker talks for one minute about their culture and
the listener does not interrupt. Once the minute is over, the listener repeats what the
speaker has said, felt and meant about their culture. Next, the speaker and listener discuss
how accurate the listener was in repeating what they had heard. Finally, the speaker and
listener should reverse roles and repeat the exercise process.
Debriefing and Discussion: Instructors may decide to have a class discussion after the
exercise to talk about the process, how people felt and what students got out of it.
Instructors may also want to discuss how people often define their culture broadly (i.e.
including ethnicity, age, gender, education, etc.). Instructors can ask students questions
that will encourage self reflection and self examination. More specifically, instructors
56
may want to discuss this exercise in terms of therapy with culturally diverse clients (i.e.,
how might this exercise prepare students to work with culturally diverse clients, did this
exercise bring up any ideas or concerns regarding therapy with clients of different
cultural backgrounds, what might a therapist need to be aware when “listening” to their
client discuss their culture?).
Source:
Pedersen, P. (2004). 110 Experiences for Multicultural Learning. Washington, D.C.:
American Psychological Association.
57
Exercise #8: “How Ethnic Am I”
Objective: This exercise allows students of all cultural backgrounds to examine how
their culture and ethnicity are important to and influence their identity. “The exercise
promotes not only European American self-reflection, but the necessity for populations of
color to examine experiences that are similar across ethnic groups as well as unique to
their own particular group” (Lewis, 1993, p.328).
Procedure: Instructors should have students answer questions similar to those listed
below. Procedural options include: instructors can pass out the questions and ask the
students to write down their answers, or the instructor can write the questions on a board
in front of the class and have students write down their answers. Question options
include:

What is (are) my cultural background(s)?

What are some values I find important and are they similar to those of my family
members and/or people of my cultural background?

How has society or history influenced the experiences of both my family and
myself and have they shaped the values we have?

How might these values and my experiences influence my work as a therapist?
Debriefing and Discussion: Instructors should lead a classroom discussion, providing
students an opportunity to share their responses and reflect on thoughts and feelings that
may have come up during the process. The authors suggest discussing how the exercise
58
influenced their perception of the importance of their cultural background and what
parallels they might see between their own background and other cultural groups.
Instructors can expand the discussion by asking more specific questions regarding
therapy and how cultural backgrounds of both the therapist and client influence their
experiences.
Source:
Lewis, E.A. (1993). How ethnic am I? In Schoem, D., Frankel, L., Zuniga, X., & Lewis,
E.A. (Eds.). Multicultural teaching in the university (p.328-329). Westport,
Connecticut: Praeger
59
Exercise #9: Finding Common Ground in an Argument
Objective: This exercise provides students with an opportunity to identify similar values
and expectations in arguments across various cultures, even though behaviors may
different. Students gain an understanding that similar behaviors can actually have
different meanings for various people and cultures. While at the same time, different
behaviors can have similar meanings. This can be particularly useful in a therapy setting,
allowing students to learn how to find common ground when working with couples,
clients from various cultures, etc. This exercise can also provide insight for students who
finds themselves working with a couple who is in turmoil and how they might help them
to see each other’s perspective, while remaining objective.
Procedure: Two students will role play as a couple in therapy and each will discuss their
issues for two uninterrupted minutes. After the two minutes, the remaining class members
will act as marriage counselors, asking each spouse one question. At the end the of the
role play have students discuss what advice or comments were most helpful.
Debriefing and Discussion: Instructors should give students (both role players and
remaining students) an opportunity to reflect on the exercise and the process of acting
like a couple in therapy or as a marriage therapist. Instructors can also facilitate
discussions by asking questions about why it is important to establish common ground in
managing conflict, why counselors may find it hard to avoid focusing on the behaviors of
people in conflict and why does an argument escalate when you do focus on the
60
behaviors? More specifically, instructors may want to have students focus on counseling
and how this exercise can translate into everyday practice as a therapist working with
people of diverse backgrounds.
Source:
Pedersen, P. (2004). 110 Experiences for Multicultural Learning. Washington, D.C.:
American Psychological Association.
61
Exercise #10: Fishbowl
Objective: This exercise gives students an opportunity to both participate in and observe
a multicultural discussion. Areas of commonality and difference can be identified and the
types of conflict that may arise from those differences. There is also an opportunity for
students to self reflect on their experiences and share things about their own culture with
classmates.
Procedure: Instructors should have students break up into a small group (2-4 students)
and a larger group of students (8-10) who observe the smaller group discussing a
multicultural issue or topic. Seating arrangements for a fishbowl demonstration typically
have the small group sitting in a small circle, with the observing group sitting in a larger
circle behind them, in front of a larger classroom.
Sample Questions for Fishbowl Discussion:

What was it like to grow up______(Jewish, African American, Latino, etc.)?

What were some of your first experiences with racism or sexism?

What are some of the advantages to being a man or woman?
Some of the questions can be more specific to counseling:

How do you think being a man or woman influences you as a counselor trainee?

What are some difference you notice when working with a client of a different
cultural background and do you feel that those differences create difficulties for
the therapeutic relationship and process?
62

How might your own cultural experiences influence you as a therapist, influence
your therapeutic relationships, and influence your approach to therapy?
Debriefing and Discussion: This exercise can be followed by observer comments,
questions and answers, as well as a large group discussion. Students should be given the
opportunity to discuss their answers and how it felt to share and reflect. Observers should
also have a chance to ask questions, reflect on how it felt and reactions they may have
had observing the exercise. Instructors may also want to take notes during the exercise
and respond to concerns or questions students may have discussed. Professors might also
want to have students tailor their discussion to counseling and how these issues might
relate.
Sources:
Schoem, D., Zuniga, X., & Nagda, B.A. (1993). Exploring one’s group background: The
fishbowl exercise. In Schoem, D., Frankel, L., Zuniga, X., & Lewis, E.A. (Eds.).
Multicultural teaching in the university (p.326-327). Westport, Connecticut:
Praeger
63
Exercise #11: Simulations
Objective: Students are presented with challenges that marginalized groups are often
faced with, so that they may better understand the difficulties that different cultural
groups deal with.
Procedure: Instructors provide students with examples of challenges that marginalized
groups might face (i.e. discrimination; dealing with poverty issues, harassment, etc.).
Students can discuss in small groups how these individuals might feel and how, as
counselors, they can support and assist them. Also, students may want to address how the
different experiences of their culturally diverse clients may impact the work they do with
those clients. Examples of simulations include: creating a monthly budget for a family of
five on minimum wage or a wheelchair simulation to experience accessibility issues and
stereotyping.
Debriefing and Discussion: Instructors should give students an opportunity to discuss this
exercise (i.e. did they find it helpful, what types of emotions and feelings did it bring up
for them, what did they learn, etc.). Instructors may also want to discuss with students
how this exercise is related to therapy and realizations it may have brought up for them.
Source:
Pedersen, P. (2000). Hidden messages in culture-centered counseling: A Triad Training
Model. Thousand Oaks, Ca: Sage Publications.
64
Roysircar, G., Sandhu, D., & Bibbins, V. (Ed.). (2003). Multicultural competencies: A
guidebook of practices. Alexandria, Va: Association for Multicultural Counseling
and Development.
65
Exercise #12: Identity Tracking
Objective: To increase student’s awareness of how different cultural groups are
portrayed by the media and perceived by society. Also, students will have an opportunity
to reflect on how those portrayals may have affected their own perception and opinions of
different cultural groups.
Procedure: Instructors should randomly assign students a cultural identity and have them
track (i.e. keep journals, bring in examples, etc) of how the group’s identity is portrayed
in various media sources (i.e. newspaper, television, internet, etc.).
Debriefing and Discussion: Instructors should allow students the time to discuss and
reflect how they felt about their discoveries. Instructors may lead classroom discussions
on points and issues that students bring up and address and support their questions,
concerns, and thoughts regarding different cultural groups and how they are portrayed by
the media. In addition, instructors may want students to reflect and think about their
discoveries and what it means for the therapeutic process (i.e. how has this exercise
changed their views; how might the therapeutic process be different for the various
cultural groups; etc.).
Source:
M. Endriga (personal communication, June 2007)
66
Exercise #13: Analyzing Sexism in Children’s Books
Objective: Students will examine and analyze sex-role stereotypes in reading material
they may have been exposed to as children and that their child clients may be reading.
Provides students with an opportunity to think about how they may have been influenced
by books as children, but also gives them a chance to examine the messages which are
being sent to children they are working with.
Procedure: Instructors will determine the age level of the book (i.e. for toddlers, young
school aged kids, high school students, etc.) and students will choose a book of their
choice. While reading the book, students should be noting the number of men and women
in the story; the types of activities characters are participating in; are there any negative
comments on the abilities of boys or girls. Also, students should be studying the
illustrations of the book, if applicable. Lastly, students should be instructed to note any
stereotypes that are present in the story and how stereotypes may have influenced them
and may be affecting the children that they are working with.
Debriefing and Discussion: In small groups students will discuss their findings and
feelings regarding the book and the assignment. Instructors can also restructure this
exercise and have students analyze therapeutic children’s books and see if the same
issues exist. Instructors may want to lead a classroom discussion addressing some of the
common themes found in children’s books and what that may mean for their current
clients and what it may have done to shape their own views and beliefs.
67
Source:
Tiedt, P.L. & Tiedt, I.M. (1994). Multicultural teaching: A handbook of activities,
information, and resources. Boston: Allyn and Bacon
68
Exercise #14: “What Stands Between Us” - Diversity Conversation Flash Cards
Objective: To encourage conversations between different cultural groups, by providing
thought provoking questions. There are four different categories of cards which include
Questions People of Color Would Like To Be Asked, Questions European Americans
Would Like To Be Asked, Questions by People of Color for European Americans, and
Questions by European Americans for People of Color.
Procedure: Students pick a card from an appropriate category and read it aloud. Students
who identify as being from the category (e.g., European American) are invited to answer
the question. When those students are finished, students from other cultural groups are
invited to share their reactions to what they heard, but not “debate” the answers of the
other cultural group. The instructor should help facilitate this discussion.
Source:
http://www.stirfryseminars.com/pages/wsbu_fc.htm
69
Exercise #15: Multiple Roles and Multiple Choice Exercise
Objective: This exercise provides students with an opportunity to get to know each other
and allows them to explore and discuss similarities they may have, as well as differences.
With this exercise, students are able to identify the different aspects of their interpersonal
styles, social background and values and beliefs they may have regarding a particular
issue.
Procedure: Instructors can choose categories from the list below or create their own
which is more appropriate for their course. Statements should be read out loud and
students will choose a response that is closest to their demographic characteristics,
beliefs, behaviors or roles. Students with similar responses will meet together in groups
to discuss their responses for approximately 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the length of
the class. Some examples of possible questions include:

I usually handle conflict by _____.

In this class I am concerned that I will_______.

I feel_______ when working with clients from diverse cultural backgrounds.

I believe that my own culture plays a(n)________ role in my work with clients.
Questions should be in multiple choice form, with instructors providing 3-4 responses for
students to choose from.
70
Debriefing and Discussion: At the end of the exercise, instructors should leave time for a
class discussion. Students should have the opportunity to talk about the exercise, how
they liked it, what they learned, and how they felt afterwards. Specific questions
instructors may want to ask include: did you observe any patterns along race, gender, or
ethnic lines? What topics were addressed that may arise during therapy with clients? How
do think exercises like this help you in your training to become a therapist?
Source:
Zuniga, X. & Myers, P. (1993). Multiple roles and multiple choice exercise. In Schoem,
D., Frankel, L., Zuniga, X., & Lewis, E.A. (Eds.). Multicultural teaching in the
university (p.316-318). Westport, Connecticut: Praeger.
71
Exercise: #16: Concentric Circles Exercise
Objective: This exercise gives students an opportunity to get to know each other with a
one on one interaction. Students are able to express their feelings and experiences
regarding relevant cultural issues.
Procedure: Students sit in two concentric circles, with the inner circle facing the outer
circle. Students in the inner circle answer first and speak with the person who is facing
them in the outer circle. Then, the student in the outer circle takes a turn to answer the
question. After each of the students answer the question, the students in the inner circle
move one place to the right. Once students are facing a new partner, instructors ask the
second question. This process is repeated until all questions have been answered. Once
this is done, students come together in a large group and discuss thoughts, observations,
and feelings regarding the exercise. The following are possible topics and questions that
would work for a counseling level graduate course, with some questions being more
general and some being specific to counseling:

Discuss a time in which you were a target/victim of harassment or discrimination
and what that was like for you.

How do you think your experiences have prepared you to work with clients from
a diverse cultural background?

How do you think they have hindered you?
72

What are some of your concerns about working with clients with a different
racial/cultural background other than our own?

What are your plans to address these concerns?

What are your thoughts on acknowledging obvious cultural/racial differences
between you and your clients?

Do you feel that you have the skills to have such a discussion?

What cultural/racial group do you feel the most comfortable/capable counseling?

Which group do you feel the least comfortable/capable?
Debriefing and Discussion: This exercise allows students to focus on how they felt while
answering many of the questions. Instructors may want to ask students which questions
were hard to answer and which were easy and why they felt that way, what questions
they found to be most thought provoking, and what they learned about themselves as a
person and as a future therapist.
Source:
Myers, P., & Zuniga, X. (1993). Concentric circles exercise. In Schoem, D., Frankel, L.,
Zuniga, X., & Lewis, E.A. (Eds.). Multicultural teaching in the university (p.318
319). Westport, Connecticut: Praeger.
73
Exercise #17: The Importance of Key Words in a Transcript
Objective: By identifying key words in a transcript, students can begin to understand the
importance of words. Specifically, this exercise can demonstrate how some words can be
more important than others, especially in communication across different cultures. This
exercise allows students to be exposed to conversations that are typical in therapeutic
settings, giving them insight into the issues, topics and styles of communication that
clients often have in therapy.
Procedure: Instructors will separate students into groups of two to four and provide the
groups with a transcript of a therapy session involving therapists and clients from various
cultural groups. The groups will identify key words in the transcript and report back to
the class the key words they chose and why they thought they were important.
Debriefing and Discussion: The instructor will conduct a class discussion on the
differences and similarities in the key words that the different groups chose. Instructors
may want to ask students the following questions:

What do the similarities and differences in students’ key word lists mean and
represent?

Do different cultures seem to use different key words?

Why are key words important, especially in therapy sessions?

How might key words influence the therapeutic relationship and/or process?
74
Source:
Pedersen, P. (2004). 110 Experiences for Multicultural Learning. Washington, D.C.:
American Psychological Association.
75
Skills
76
Exercise #18: Critical Incidents
Objective: This exercise prepares students to recognize the potential for positive learning
experiences that occur in cross cultural situations and interactions. The exercise can be
used to help develop a student’s ability to use different information sources within a
cultural context, evaluate a students’ ability to listen and pay attention to nonverbal cues,
and clarify students’ awareness of feelings and attitudes and how they may influence
people (Roysircar, Sandhu, and Bibbins, 2003, p. 35). Students are given the opportunity
to discuss and reflect on different scenarios and how multicultural issues are involved.
Procedure: Instructors distribute short descriptions of counseling incidents in which a
disagreement occurs in a multicultural context. Instructors can find descriptions in text
books and journal articles or they can write their own to make it more specific and
appropriate for the class. The descriptions should be shorter than a case study with no
right or wrong responses (examples can be found in Pedersen, 2004, p.211-223). Once
students read the descriptions, a classroom discussion and/or role play should follow.
This provides students with an opportunity to work through the incident, think about how
culture is influencing the situation, and how might they handle a similar situation.
Debriefing and Discussion: Instructors should allow students an opportunity to reflect
on how they may react or what they might say when disagreements or multicultural
topics surface during a therapy session. Students will then have a chance to think about
how they would feel when dealing with a disagreement or tense situation within a
77
therapeutic setting either between two clients or between a client and themselves.
Instructors can provide students with support and insight as to how to potentially deal
with those types of situations.
Source:
Pedersen, P. (2004). 110 Experiences for Multicultural Learning. Washington, D.C.:
American Psychological Association.
Roysircar, G., Sandhu, D., & Bibbins, V. (Ed.). (2003). Multicultural competencies: A
guidebook of practices. Alexandria, Va: Association for Multicultural Counseling
and Development.
78
Exercise #19: Pedersen’s Triad Training Model
Objective: This exercise provides students with an opportunity to hear the unspoken selftalk that clients from different cultures may be thinking but are not verbalizing to their
counselors. The Triad Training model simulates a cross cultural interview between a
counselor from one culture and a three person team of a client, procounselor and an
anticounselor from a different culture.
Procedure: Instructors will distribute transcripts (examples can be found in Pedersen,
2004 and Pedersen, 2000). After reading the transcripts, students will fill in the blanks of
what an anticounselor and procounselor might say in that particular situation. In general,
the anticounselor acts as the thoughts and attitudes of the client based on their reactions
to cultural differences that may threaten the relationship. While the procounselor acts as
the positive aspects of the relationship. After each student has written their responses of
both the anticounselor and the procounselor, the class will discuss and compare their
responses. Instructors may also choose to have students role play the transcripts, giving
students a firsthand opportunity to practice what they might say in certain situations. In a
typical triad training role play, the client and counselor sit opposite one another and the
procounselor and anticounselor sit on either side of, and slightly behind the counselor.
During the role play, the anticounselor and procounselor verbalize the thoughts and
feelings of the counselor according to their respective roles.
79
Debriefing and Discussion: Instructors should lead a discussion and have students pay
close attention to how their responses were both similar and different from those of their
classmates. During the discussion instructors may want to ask questions like:

How might a counselor respond when hearing the statements from both the
anticounselor and procounselor?

If a role play was done:
o How did the student playing the counselor feel when the comments were
made?
o How might a client feel?
o What would be the importance to therapists monitoring their own and their
client’s internal dialogue of anti and pro messages?
o
How did you feel participating in this exercise?
o Do you believe this exercise was beneficial?
Sources:
Pedersen, P. (2000). A handbook for developing multicultural awareness. Alexandria,
Virginia: American Counseling Association.
Pedersen, P. (2004). 110 Experiences for Multicultural Learning. Washington, D.C.:
American Psychological Association.
Roysircar, G., Sandhu, D., & Bibbins, V. (Ed.). (2003). Multicultural competencies: A
guidebook of practices. Alexandria, Va: Association for Multicultural Counseling
and Development.
80
Exercise #20: A Self-Assessment of Multicultural Awareness, Knowledge, and Skill
Objective: To have students examine their abilities to demonstrate their multicultural
awareness, knowledge, and skills. The test provides thought provoking questions that
would give students an opportunity to self reflect on their multicultural knowledge,
awareness and skills (KAS) and exposing them to topics and issues they have not yet
thought about.
Procedure: Instructors will pass out the self-test to students (examples provided in
Pedersen, 2004 and Roysircrar, Sandhu, and Bibbins, 2003). Examples of self-test items
include:

Which are the cultures you least understand and why?

Can you be nonjudgmental toward clients whose beliefs are profoundly different
from your own?

Can you explain why clients from a minority group might be reluctant to seek out
counseling?
Students will indicate how well they think they would be able to answer the test questions
(based on their own criteria). Students will grade their ability to answer the questions
based on the following: A – excellent answer, B – generally good answer, C – acceptable
answer and F – if they were unable to answer. At the end of the self assessment test,
students will compute a “GPA” by adding up their points (A – 3 points, B – 2 points, C –
1 point, and F – 0) and then dividing the points by the number of questions answered.
81
Debriefing and Discussion: After the self assessment test, instructors should conduct a
class discussion. Students should have the opportunity to discuss the process and what
they learned about both themselves and culture. Instructors may want to ask questions
regarding the students’ accuracy of their own multicultural awareness and knowledge;
what students feel the consequences of low multicultural competencies might be
(especially for counselor trainees); and how students think they can increase their KAS of
multicultural issues.
Sources:
Pedersen, P. (2004). 110 Experiences for Multicultural Learning. Washington, D.C.:
American Psychological Association.
Roysircar, G., Sandhu, D., & Bibbins, V. (Ed.). (2003). Multicultural competencies: A
guidebook of practices. Alexandria, Va: Association for Multicultural Counseling
and Development.
82
Exercise: #21: Role Plays
Objective: To have students practice their therapeutic skills by participating in
multicultural role plays.
Procedure: Students will need to be in small groups and they will role play counseling
interactions, which involve multicultural issues and topics; focus on communication
among various types of cultural groups; and address difficult and challenging situations
which may arise. Instructors will need to provide the students with case studies or
vignettes to help guide the students though a role play. Students should alternate their
roles as counselors and clients.
Debriefing and Discussion: Instructors should allow time for a class
discussion/reflection time after the exercise. Student will have the opportunity to discuss
how it felt to be both the therapist and the client; comforts/discomforts they may have
experienced with each role; fears or expectations they may have about therapy, more
specifically therapy with a diverse client base; what the pros and cons are with this
particular exercise; etc.
Source:
Dollarhide, C.T., Smith, A.T., Lemberger, M.E. (2007). Counseling made transparent:
Pedagogy for a counseling theories course. Counselor Education and
Supervision, 46, 242-253.
83
Exercise #22: The Interpersonal, Intercultural, Psychopathological (IIP)
Questionnaire
Objective: This exercise provides students with an opportunity to look at the differences
in assigning intercultural, interpersonal, or psychopathological attributes to clients.
Students can also gain a better understanding of behaviors that can often be considered to
be different from conventional norms. This exercise provides students with the insight
that people from different cultures will often view presenting problems and issues from
different perspectives. More specifically, counseling and clinical students/trainees will
realize how they might see the same situation and issues differently from their culturally
diverse clients. Furthermore, students have the opportunity to self reflect on their take of
issues from the beginning of their training versus the end of their training. It provides
student with an opportunity to self reflect and then to return to the topics of the
questionnaire towards the end of their training experience.
Procedure: Instructors will distribute the IIP Questionnaire to students (110 Experiences
for Multicultural Learning, Pedersen, 2004, p.276-278). Example of questions include:

“A 22-year-old woman approaches a counselor complaining that she cannot focus
on relevant issues. She claims that her thinking has suddenly become ‘diffuse’”
(p.278).

“A man seeks help in trying to understand his teenage son’s fixation with rock
music. It appears that his son has trouble with absenteeism at school” (p. 277).
84
Students complete all sections of the questionnaire and a classroom discussion will
follow.
Debriefing and Discussion: Instructors need to provide students with an opportunity to
discuss the exercise in detail: what did students find helpful; what issues (if any) did this
exercise bring up; have students describe what they think intercultural, interpersonal, and
psychopathological mean; do students think that people with less training tend to label
behaviors as intercultural; do they think that people with more training tend to label
behavior as psychopathology; etc.
Source:
Pedersen, P. (2004). 110 Experiences for Multicultural Learning. Washington, D.C.:
American Psychological Association.
85
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