Assignment: Discuss Cultural Competence
Assignment: Discuss Cultural Competence
The term cultural competence denotes an integrative perspective on the cultures of other people. Individuals displaying higher levels of cultural competency tend not to promote their culture over others or vice versa—they instead demonstrate an interest in learning more about the customs, habits, and behaviors of those whose backgrounds are different from their own.
Post a description of your level of familiarity with the culture of the client.
Describe at least two additional pieces of information you would need to gather from the client in order to best assist him or her.
For this Discussion, review the case studies below and consider your knowledge of the client’s culture.
References
- James, J., Green, D., Rodriguez, C., & Fong, R. (2008). Addressing disproportionality through undoing racism, leadership development, and community engagement. Child Welfare, 87(2), 279–296.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases. - [removed]O’Brien, M. (2011). Equality and fairness: Linking social justice and social work practice. Journal of Social Work, 11(2), 143–158.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
Plummer, S.-B., Makris, S., & Brocksen S. M. (Eds.). (2014). . In Social work case studies: Foundation year. Retrieved from http://www.vitalsource.com
Working With Survivors of Domestic Violence: The Case of Charo
Charo is a 34-year-old, heterosexual, Hispanic female. She is unemployed and currently lives in an apartment with her ve chil- dren, ages 2, 3, 6, 7, and 8. She came to this country 8 years ago from Mexico with her husband, Paulo. During intake, Charo reported that she suffered severe abuse and neglect in the home as a child and rape as a young adult. Charo does not speak English and currently does not have a visa to work.
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Charo initially came for services at our domestic violence agency because Child Protective Services (CPS) and the court ordered her to attend a domestic violence support group after allegations of domestic violence were made by one of her chil- dren to a teacher at their school. Her husband was ordered to attend a batterer’s intervention program (BIP). Charo attended the domestic violence support group but seldom said a word. Although she rarely shared during group, she also rarely missed a session. While she attended the group, she also met with me weekly for individual sessions. During these sessions I informed her of the dynamics of domestic violence and helped her create a safety plan. She often said that she was only attending the group because it was mandated and that she just wanted CPS to close her case. One week, Charo suddenly stopped attending group. When I called her, she said that she had been busy and unable to attend. That same day her husband called me to verify that I was who his wife said I was, as he often accused Charo of having affairs.
Charo showed up to group again one day after a 3-month absence. Her appearance was disheveled, and she had lost a signi cant amount of weight. The next day she called me and requested an emergency individual session. During the session, she reported that her husband had an imaginary friend who was telling him to kill her and that the previous weekend he had placed a knife on her pillow and threatened to take her life. Charo stated that her husband would force her to wear short skirts and bleach
