Post on 15-Jan-2016
ICSWS 2009 - Penang, Malaysia
Training Counselors for Social Justice and Multicultural
Competence: Outcomes from National and International
Outreach Projects Cirecie West-OlatunjiRachael D. GoodmanUniversity of FloridaGargi Roysircar-SodowskyAntioch University New England
ICSWS 2009 - Penang, Malaysia
Presentation Agenda
• Culturally competent disaster responseo Importance & Theoretical Basiso Seven-Step Training Model
• Case Illustrations• Research Outcomes• Future Projects • Discussion
ICSWS 2009 - Penang, Malaysia
Culturally Competent Disaster Response (CCDR): Importance
• As disasters rise globally, there is an increasing need for counselors to respond to disasters worldwide
(Walker, Wisner, Learning & Minear, 2005).
• Often, mental health providers are not adequately prepared to provide effective, culturally competent disaster response services
• Therefore, training programs are needed to prepare counselors for culturally competent disaster response
(Arredondo et al., 1996; Goodman & West-Olatunji, in press; Kennedy, 2006; Pedersen & Ivey, 1993)
ICSWS 2009 - Penang, Malaysia
Culturally Competent Disaster Response: Theoretical Basis
Critical Consciousness (Freire, 2000) is the ability to perceive oppression and to act against the oppressive elements in society.
Action that is based on reflection, awareness, collaboration, and empowerment is liberating and humanizing for both service providers and communities.
ICSWS 2009 - Penang, Malaysia
CCDR Seven-Step Training Model (Goodman & West-Olatunji, in press)
STEP 1 - Awareness: participants recognize that they bring their own biases into the environmentSTEP 2 - Respect: participants recognize that community members have equally valid realities and funds of knowledgeSTEP 3 - Context: participants acknowledge the sociopolitical contextSTEP 4 - Integration: participants integrate knowledge into clinical conceptualizationSTEP 5 - Empowerment: participants are able to appropriately intervene with empowerment as the goal STEP 6 - Praxis: participants formulate advocacy action STEP 7 - Transformation: participants integrate the experience into their own personal and professional identities
ICSWS 2009 - Penang, Malaysia
Disaster Response Case Illustrations
2006 Post-Katrina New Orleans • During the 8-day deployment, participants
provided disaster response counseling and consultation to teachers and school personnel
• Location: K-8 Charter school
ICSWS 2009 - Penang, Malaysia
Disaster Response Case Illustrations
2007 South Africa and Botswana • During the 23-day deployment, participants
provided direct clinical services, training, and consultation/supervision
• Locations: Schools and community agencies (HIV/AIDS, crisis response, domestic violence)
ICSWS 2009 - Penang, Malaysia
Applying the Seven-Step CCDR Model
STEP 1 - Awareness: • Application process
(short answer and inventories) and pre-outreach training focused on awareness of culture and cultural biases
STEP 2 - Respect: • Tours of important sites
by community informants illuminated community members’ funds of knowledge and were embedded in the deployment
ICSWS 2009 - Penang, Malaysia
Applying the Seven-Step CCDR Model
STEP 3 - Context: • Training, readings, and tours furthered the
participants’ understanding of the socio-political context
STEP 4 - Integration: • Supervision and group
process allowed participants to integrate new knowledge into clinical conceptualization
ICSWS 2009 - Penang, Malaysia
Applying the Seven-Step CCDR Model
STEP 5 – Empowerment:• With live supervision
and group process, participants were able to intervene with community members not in a humanitarian way, but in a humanizing way
STEP 6 – Praxis:• From this humanizing
perspective, participants encouraged the formulation of advocacy action – whereby community members make change within their own system
ICSWS 2009 - Penang, Malaysia
Applying the Seven-Step CCDR Model
STEP 7 - Transformation:• Daily written reflection
and summative whole group process enabled participants to integrate authenticity, cultural awareness, respect, and love
ICSWS 2009 - Penang, Malaysia
Research Design
• Research Methodology:o Culture-centered: transformation, liberation, and
praxis (King & Mitchell, 1995; Tillman, 2002)• Participants: 14 counseling/psychology
graduate students (7 from each trip)• Data sources: (1) application information,
(2) inventories, (3) daily journals• Data analysis: thematic analysis, NVIV0 2.0
ICSWS 2009 - Penang, Malaysia
Research Outcomes• Participants developed
o The ability to work collaboratively with the communityo Greater cultural competence, awareness, and self
knowledgeo Increased sense of agency and social justice
• Participants experienced o Psychological healing o The importance of
mentoring, group cohesion, and self-care
Culture-centered Interventions
ICSWS 2009 - Penang, Malaysia
• Build on existing knowledge within the client’s worldviews
• Maintain client empowerment and agency• Demonstrate reciprocity in the transformation
process• Honor the historical and contextual forms of
healing within the client’s familial and community networks
ICSWS 2009 - Penang, Malaysia
Significance of Research: Pyramid of Critical Consciousness Development for CCDR
(Goodman & West-Olatunji, in press)
From “Applying critical consciousness: Culturally competent disaster response outcomes,” by R. D. Goodman & C. A. West-Olatunji, in press, Journal of Counseling & Development . Adapted with permission of the author.
ICSWS 2009 - Penang, Malaysia
Discussion• There is a need to increase cultural competence among mental
health service providers in order to provide more expedient and effective service delivery to disaster survivors
• Clinical training needs to include more emphasis on social justice and advocacy skills, especially in relation to disaster response
• Clinical researchers must provide more examples of culture-centered counseling techniques that can be employed with culturally diverse individuals
• Future research in this area should focus on the identification of assessment tools that aid in the selection of disaster mental health responders for best fit.
ICSWS 2009 - Penang, Malaysia
Future Research
• Forming interdisciplinary outreach teams• Using outreach as a component of training in
counselor education programs• Identifying how engaging in outreach impacts
traditional or non-outreach counseling practice• Developing assessments and interventions for
communities and individuals experiencing systemic oppression and transgenerational trauma, in the context of disaster
(Goodman & West-Olatunji, 2008)
ICSWS 2009 - Penang, Malaysia
Future Projects: Southern Africa 2009
• Conference to be held at the University of Botswana, Gaborone, July 8-11, 2009o Ten-day package for conference and historical
tour of South Africa & Botswana July 3-12, 2009• Call for conference proposals open until
January 21, 2009• Outreach participants will return to agencies
for continued partnership (now closed)• Visit www.amcdaca.org for more information
ICSWS 2009 - Penang, Malaysia
Selected ReferencesFreire, P. (2000). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group, Inc.Goodman, R. D., & West-Olatunji, C. A. (in press). Applying critical consciousness: Culturally competent disaster response outcomes. Journal of Counseling & Development.Goodman, R. D., & West-Olatunji, C. A. (2008). Transgenerational trauma and resilience: Improving mental health counseling for survivors on Hurricane Katrina. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 30, 121-136 Harrell, S. P. (2000). A multidimensional conceptualization of racism-related stress: Implications for the well-being of people of color. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 70, 42-57.Tillman, L. C. (2002). Culturally sensitive research approaches: An African-American perspective. Educational Researcher, 31:9, 3-12Walker, P., Wisner, B., Learning, J, & Minear, L. (2005). Smoke and mirrors: Deficiencies in disaster funding. British Medical Journal, 330, 247-250.
ICSWS 2009 - Penang, Malaysia
Contact InformationRachael D. Goodman, M.Ed., Ed.SDoctoral CandidateDepartment of Counselor EducationCollege of EducationUniversity of Florida rachaeldg@gmail.com
Gargi Roysircar-Sodowsky, Ph. D.ProfessorDepartment of Clinical PsychologyAntioch University New England40 Avon StreetKeene, NH 034361g_roysircar-sodowsky@antiochne.edu
Cirecie A. West-Olatunji, Ph.D.Assistant ProfessorCounselor EducationCollege of EducationUniversity of Florida1204 Norman HallPO Box 117046Gainesville, FL 32607 USAcwestolatunji@coe.ufl.edu