● Implicit bias is an aspect of implicit social cognition: the phenomenon that perceptions, attitudes, and stereotypes can operate prior to conscious intention or endorsement. Therapists and counselors must be careful to identify their potential for bias and stereotyping clients from other cultural backgrounds and should complete implicit bias training as part of their professional preparation for practice. Nontraditional Family Groups Today’s professional will encounter a variety of nontraditional families and groups. Same-sex or transgender parents; same-sex family members; and biological, surrogate, and stepparents and -children are all within these nontraditional family groups. There is no “typical” family group, and each person in the family may face issues related to their unique family composition. These issues may include discrimination, bullying, loss of employment, child custody issues, antigay prejudices or violence, feeling ostracized or isolated in the community, and feeling devalued by society. The family or group counselor or therapist should acquire specialized skills and experiences to understand the complexities of nontraditional family groups in order to practice in a nonjudgmental, supportive manner. The following issues may present: ● Sexual or gender orientation within the family group may lead to prejudice, discrimination, or bias in the community. ● Minority sexual orientation or gender issues may be the focus in custody issues the family is facing. ● Co-parenting and blended families may present added stress to all family members. ● Children may face issues at school or within the community due to their family composition. ● Same-sex or transgender couples may experience discrimination related to adoption or conceiving a child through the use of a surrogate. ● There may be conflicts between the biological parent and a stepparent who now has custody of the child. ● Extended families may not accept the nontraditional family members. ● Parents may need support to help their children feel confident and comfortable with a lifestyle that contradicts what they see and experience outside of their homes. The parents may require strategies to help their children face discrimination, isolation, and any negative stereotypes that they may encounter. ● Teens and children may face challenges due to their sexual or gender identity. ● It may take additional time to build trusting, collaborative relationships with members of the group to overcome their reluctance to share their feelings due to negative, judgmental experiences that they may have had in the past. ● A member of the family may be questioning sexual orientation or gender or may be in transition and need support through the process. The family may need services to help them adjust to the changes within the family. Micro-aggressions that are related to gender expression and sexual identity can occur when working with members of the LBGTQ community. For example, the counselor or therapist should ask in their first session which gender pronoun the client prefers. storing, retrieving, and transmitting patient information, clinical records, session notes, insurance information, evaluation results, and all other data involved in a client’s case.
Attention was paid to the risk of misdiagnosis when evaluating individuals from socially oppressed ethnoracial groups. Clearly, it is impossible to be an expert in working with all cultures. Many researchers in this field report that it is important to look at the universal principles and standards that are at the core of therapy and counseling. These are basic human rights, and promoting an individual’s mental health to reach full potential is fundamental. A counselor should work beyond their cultural beliefs and social systems and strive to understand clients from their viewpoints. A counselor must be aware of a client’s external influences that may impact the development of service plans. There are many training and educational programs to help build competence in multicultural diversity and to help the practitioner appreciate the social and cultural influences that shape a client’s view of the world. Practitioners who do not consider these influences may incorrectly evaluate, or label, the client. They risk diagnosing behavior as pathological or impaired, although it may be an accepted and normal practice in the client’s culture. Multicultural awareness in counseling and therapy is critical for the counselor or therapist to communicate effectively in a way that is culturally sensitive. The practitioner must consider the effects of the client’s culture in all phases of the service plan to deliver effective, individualized service. In addition to training and educational programs, practitioners should increase their own multicultural competencies through hands-on experiences with local cultures in their communities of practice. This could include attending special events; volunteering; consulting professionals in the community; and participating in workshops, advocacy programs, and discussion groups along with consulting supervisors or other colleagues who have experience with the community. These activities, combined with guidelines from the code of ethics, may help practitioners develop competencies to further serve clients from diverse cultures. Practitioners must identify and understand their own cultural perspective as it impacts their practice with diverse populations. While there may be situations that show blatant discrimination toward others or ignorance of other cultures, many cultural insensitivities or negative behaviors have been termed “micro-aggressions,” which are defined by the Merriam-Webster 2023 dictionary as, “A comment or action that subtly and often unconsciously or unintentionally expresses a prejudice.” Well-meaning therapists who believe that they are culturally sensitive and open minded may offend members of another culture without being aware that they are doing so. Micro-aggressions are linked to implicit bias (see glossary) that may be subtle, unconscious, and unintentional as well. According to the APA (2023c): ● Implicit bias is thought to be shaped by experience and based on learned associations between particular qualities and social categories, including race and/or gender. ● Individuals’ perceptions and behaviors can be influenced by the implicit biases they hold, even if they are unaware they hold such biases. Technology-Assisted Services The computer age has presented new areas of ethical concerns that have affected every mental health organization today. Computers and other forms of technology are now the standard methods for recording,
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Book Code: PCUS1525
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