Argosy University
Illinois School of Professional Psychology/Chicago Campus
Issues in the Assessment and Treatment of Ethnically and Racially Diverse Populations
PP7341
Spring 2009
Instructors:
Charles E. Davis, Ph.D. Erin Alexander, Psy.D.
312.777.7684
Teaching Assistants:
Class meeting Dates:
Course Description
This course is designed to sensitize students to the presence of cultural and racial stereotypes that interfere with optimal understanding and treatment of racial and ethnic populations in American society. Special emphasis is placed on facilitating student awareness of biased attitudes as such attitudes may negatively impact relations with individuals and groups who are sensitized to issues of discrimination. Information is provided concerning the unique mental health needs of African-Americans, Asians, Latinos and Native Americans.
Mission Statement - Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology
The Doctoral program in Clinical Psychology at Argosy University/Illinois School of Professional Psychology-Chicago Campus is an APA accredited program (APA, 750 First St. NE, Washington, DC 20002, 202-336-5500). This program is designed to educate and train students so that they may eventually be able to function effectively as clinical psychologists. To ensure that students are prepared adequately, the curriculum provides for the meaningful integration of theory, training and practice. The Clinical Psychology program at Argosy University/Illinois School of Professional Psychology/Chicago Campus emphasizes the development of attitudes, knowledge, and skills essential in the formation of professional psychologists who are committed to the ethical provision of quality services. Specific objectives of the program include the following:
· The training of practitioners capable of delivering diagnostic and therapeutic services effectively to diverse populations of clients in need of such treatment
· The development of mental health practitioners who understand the biological, psychological, and sociological bases of human functioning
· The training of practitioners who are capable of exercising leadership both in the health care delivery system and in the training of mental health professionals
· The preparation of mental health practitioners capable of expanding the role of psychologists within society
· The education of psychologists capable of working with other disciplines as part of a professional team
Course Information
The class is scheduled to meet 9AM to 6PM on each of the Saturdays and Sundays (or Sundays and Mondays), and 9AM to 4PM on the designated fifth day of the course. This may be the Monday of the 15th week of the semester, or another day of the week determined by the course instructors. Due to the experiential format of the class, the 6PM and 4PM ending times are not firm ones. Class may sometimes need to extend beyond this time. Students should plan accordingly.
We live in a pluralistic and culturally heterogeneous world. In fact, people of color comprise the fastest growing group in the United States. According to the 1991 U.S. Bureau of the Census, people of color make up about 25% of the population. However, it is predicted that within the next century, European-Americans will become the minority. In order to be competent to deal with clients from this society, psychologists must have an understanding of and a sensitivity to diverse ethnic cultures, value systems and world views. It is important to understand people within the context of the systems in which they function (i.e., families, social, economic, social class, religious and political). There is a growing literature investigating the effects of these dimensions on the human condition (i.e., identity formation, psychotherapy, race relations).
The course focuses on helping students develop awareness of and sensitivity to racial and cultural factors in the service of developing a better understanding of self in relation to clients with different cultural experiences and world views. The course aims to raise the consciousness of the developing clinician, thereby aiding the student in the process of self-development. Optimal results from course participation include enhanced sensitivity, heightened awareness, and greater understanding of self and others. An essential element of this course is a focus on education through experiential learning and didactic presentations.
The course requires students to make progress on multiple levels. One level is experienced when the students view the required films. The class discussions will help students to initially reflect on thoughts, feelings, and attitudes and assumptions regarding these distant, non-interactive cross cultural experiences. A second level is experienced when students discuss and write about personal and professional cross cultural situations. A third level is experienced when students make their oral presentations and experience feedback and guided questions to explore underlying assumptions, self-examination of activities and conceptual thinking of theoretical material. The fourth level is experienced when the student presents the specified and approved case material, and incorporates and enhances the work from the previous level.
The course objectives are as follows:
1. Students will increase their awareness of and sensitivity
to one's own cultural heritage, as seen in the completion of class exercises.
2. Students will demonstrate a fuller awareness and understanding of their assumptions and stereotypes and the factors influencing his/her stereotypical perceptions of people of color and become more fully aware of the potential interpersonal impact of stereotypical views on individuals of color of how they may affect their clinical work, as seen in the student’s performance on the midterm paper and class presentation.
3. Students will demonstrate an increased self awareness and ability to be self reflective and to discuss the impact of cross-cultural interactions, and an increased capacity for developing interpersonal skills in cross-cultural interactions, as seen in the midterm and final class presentations.
4. Students will demonstrate knowledge of socio-political systems and the impact on people of color as seen in the final paper.
5. Students will demonstrate increased comfort with ethnic and racial differences as seen in the final case presentation.
6. Students will demonstrate a basic knowledge of how the therapist and client can explore issues together within the cross-cultural interaction, including an understanding of the reality of oppression, and the ability to perceive other within the context of their psychohistory and culture, as seen in the final case presentation.
Course Prerequisites
PP598 Social Psychology and Difference
PP599 Personal and Professional Development
PP490/400 Diagnostic Practicum and Seminar and/or
AP590/500 Masters Therapy Practicum and Seminar
Critical Thoughts/Comments Papers
To facilitate critical reading of the required texts and to stimulate meaningful group discussions, you will be asked to turn in at the beginning of each class (weekend) a typed list of critical thoughts/comments about the material in the readings that came to your mind while reading them. We ask that you submit one critical thought/comment per reading/chapter (one paper for The Hidden Wound). These are due at the beginning of each Saturday class. Each thought or comment should not be longer than a half page (a few sentences, a paragraph, but no longer than a half page per thought). These can be general, theoretical, philosophical, specific, personal, etc., but must address the reading for that particular class. These critical thoughts and comments will be helpful in generating more expressive and interesting discourse. Students may be required to rewrite these comment papers or to meet with members of the teaching team depending upon the content of their papers.
The reading assignments that must be completed before the first class are:
Kovel: Chs. 2, 3, 4, 7, 8
Pinderhughes: Chs. 3, 4, 5, 6
Course Packet: Sollars, Hall, Gaines
The reading assignments that must be completed before the second weekend are:
Berry: The Hidden Wound
Sue: Overcoming Our Racism
Course Packet: Grey, Root, Smart, Pope, Longman
The reading assignments that must be completed before the fifth day are:
The applicable chapters in the Handbook of Multicultural Counseling, and the Tatum article if appropriate.
Mid-term Assignment
The Mid-term assignment is divided into two parts: the Mid-term paper and the oral Mid-term class presentation. The goal of the Mid-term is to help students reflect on what they have learned about issues related to racism, race relations, biases, stereotypes, prejudice, etc.
Mid-term Paper
The Mid-term paper should be 10 to 12 pages in length. It must be typed, and double-spaced. Within the paper the student must demonstrate an understanding of some racial stereotypes that they have been exposed to and/or have absorbed, and be able to articulate how these stereotypes influence their interactions and attitudes. Students must also address the following five questions in depth: 1) What function does the stereotype serve? 2) What happens when you are faced with data that is inconsistent with your stereotype? 3) What makes giving up the stereotype so difficult? 4) What would you lose by giving up the stereotype? 5) What happens if you do not give up the stereotype? Students must also discuss the clinical implications of having these stereotypes, and the steps they need to take toward remediation. Additional questions may be added to the assignment.
In-Class Mid-term Presentation
The presentation should be 20 to 30 minutes in length. The student should not read the paper, rather they should share the crux of what they talked about themselves within the paper and share what they learned about their own attitudes, stereotypes and beliefs from this exercise. Students are encouraged to be open to further explore their process and issues with the help of the professors and teaching assistants.
Final Paper
The goal of the final paper is to have the student analyze their roles and reactions in regards to their experience of/ participation in (or resistance to) institutional racism as it occurs within organizations with which they have had experience. Example institutions include, but are not limited to schools, colleges and universities, religious institutions, places of employment and training, and fraternities and sororities. The student should be able to demonstrate an understanding of their own relationship to racism, attitudes towards people of color and stereotypes. This inquiry will be reflected in the 8 to 10 page reference paper. The paper should be typed and double spaced (the page limit excludes the reference pages). The concepts and knowledge that the students have acquired during the course should be incorporated into the paper.
The paper should be divided into two parts: the first part of the paper should be approximately 6 to 8 pages long and focused on the interaction between institutionalized racism and the student's personal experience of racism. The following points must be addressed:
- Analysis of the institutional racism
- Analysis of the students "participation" in the same institutional racism
- The impact of the above on people of color
- The student's emotional response to all of the above
The second part of the paper should be 2 to 3 pages long and focused on the student's emotional reactions to the course-as-a-whole (i.e., the course, the assignments, the topic, etc.). This part of the paper is designed to help students integrate their new knowledge and their affective experience. The following points must be addressed:
- How the student perceptions have expanded or shifted as a
result of the course
- Changes in awareness, thoughts, attitudes, and behavior
- Future growth directions
Case Presentation
These assignments will take place on the fifth day of class, and are designed to allow students to reflect on a clinical experience and from case material presented by the course instructors, and then make an evaluation their assessment and intervention within the context of this course. Students are to attend to the case material both internally (heightened awareness and sensitivity) and externally (observed behavior and the meaning of that behavior). Students should attend to their activity in the process and reflect on personal assumptions and biases, power differential, use/misuse of power, empathy, focus on therapeutic goals, and management of personal feelings. Students will be asked to work individually and in small groups.
Students will generally be asked to identify their own stage of ethnic racial identity development and that of a client of color they have worked with in the past. Students will then discuss how the identity development impacted the clinical interaction. Students who only have a current clinical case or who have had no relevant clinical experience with a person of color may be required to use a prior work or social situation. The Professors must give individual approval for this to be an option.
Students will then be given case material that will be used for a case presentation. This is generally a small group activity. The presentation should be approximately 20-30 minutes in length. The instructors will use additional time to help students further explore the relevant issues. Presentations will take place on the designatedfifth day.
Culture Swap
At the end of the last day of class, students are to share significant cultural connections that they are aware of or have experienced that other students in class can also experience. This might include poetry and readings you have read, movies you have seen, or museums and festivals you have attended. We strongly encourage you to share a significant piece of your own culture. This could again be a poem, reading, song, food, video or anything which you feel reflects your own culture. Students may also share personal stories and histories that reflect their cultural experience.
Grading Criteria
Attendance is mandatory for all classes. Failure to attend anyone of the five sessions will result in a no credit for the course. The following tasks will be used to evaluate student's performance in this course:
In Class Participation
Critical Thoughts/Comments Papers
Mid-Term Paper
Oral Presentation
Term Paper
Final Case Presentation
PP7341 will be graded as credit or no credit. If a student’s performance on any of the course assignments is deemed as not meeting the satisfactory requirements for passing, the teaching team may require the student to meet with one or more members of the team, and/or require that parts or all of a paper be rewritten, and/or require some other remediation task.
READING LIST
PP7341 ISSUES IN THE ASSESSMENT AND TREATMENT OF ETHNICALLY AND RACIALLY DIVERSE POPULATIONS
Required Readings*:
BOOKS*
Kovel, J. (1970, 1984) White Racism: chs. 2,3,4,7,8, ISBN: 0231057962
Berry, Wendell (1989) The Hidden Wound. San Francisco: North Point Press. ISBN: 0865473587