PP7341

Issues in the Assessment and Treatment of Ethnically and Racially Diverse Populations

Fall 2007

INSTRUCTOR:

Erin Alexander, Psy.D.
Sarita Bhakuni, Psy.D.

PHONE:

312.399.8582 (Dr. Alexander)
773.339.9567 (Dr. Bhakuni)

EMAIL:

FAX:

ALT PHONE:

REQUIRED TEXTS:

Title / White Racism: chs. 2,3,4,7,8,
Author(s) / Kovel, J.
Copyright / (1970, 1984)
Publisher
ISBN / 0231057970
Edition
Title / The Hidden Wound
Author(s) / Berry, Wendell
Copyright / (1989)
Publisher / San Francisco: North Point Press
ISBN / 0865473587
Edition
Title / Understanding Race, Ethnicity, and Power: The key to
efficacy in clinical practice.
Author(s) / Pinderhughes, E.
Copyright / (1989)
Publisher / NY:Free Press
ISBN / 0-02-925341-1
Edition
Title / Overcoming Our Racism: The Journey to Liberation,
Author(s) / Sue, D. W.
Copyright / (2003)
Publisher / John Wiley & Sons.
ISBN / 0787967440
Edition

This Course Requires the Purchase of a Course Packet: YES NO

Page 1

ArgosyUniversity

COURSE SYLLABUS

PP7341

Issues in the Assessment and Treatment of Ethnically and Racially Diverse Populations

Fall 2007

Faculty Information

Faculty Names: Erin Alexander, Psy.D.

Sarita Bhakuni, Psy.D.

Campus:Chicago

Contact Information:312.399.8582 (Dr. Alexander)

773.339.9567 (Dr. Bhakuni)

Office Hours:By Appointment

Short Faculty Bio: Dr. Alexander is a graduate of the IllinoisSchool of Professional Psychology and currently works as the Assistant Training Director in HartgroveHospital’s Psychology Department. Additionally, Dr. Alexander is in private practice in Orland Park, IL and Downtown Chicago, where her patient population includes a diverse group of individuals seeking support to manage life transitions, issues in relationships, and severe mental illness.

Dr. Bhakuni is a graduate of ISPP and has a private practice in the Chicago loop where she works with individual adults and couples of any lifestyle. Dr. Bhakuni partners with clients in addressing anxiety, depression, relational, and ethnic identity issues. In her consulting company, she works with organizations facing challenges with change and conflict management, team dynamics, diversity, and leadership development.

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.

Course Pre-requisites: PP598Social Psychology and Difference

PP599 Personal and Professional Development

PP490/400 Diagnostic Practicum and Seminar and/or

AP590/500 Masters Therapy Practicum and Seminar

Course Meeting Dates:Saturday and Sunday, September 15 and 16 9am-6pm

Saturday and Sunday, October 13 and 14 9am-6pm

Sunday, November 4 9am-4pm

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

Pinderhughes, E. (1989)Understanding Race, Ethnicity, and Power: The key to efficacy in clinical practice. NY:Free Press. ISBN: 0-02-925341-1

Sue, D. W. (2003) Overcoming Our Racism: The Journey to Liberation, John Wiley & Sons. ISBN: 0787967440

BOOKS ON RESERVE IN THE ISPP/CHICAGO LIBRARY

Abdullah, S. (1993)A Cultural Competency Guide: Competency Guidelines Competency Scale

Jones, J. (1997).Prejudice and Racism, Chapter 15, "Under-standing Racism II: Institutional Racism".

Senge, P. (1990).The Fifth Discipline, Chapter 10, "Mental Models".

*Ponterotto, J.G., Casas, J.M., Suzuki, L.A. and Alexander, C.M. (eds.) (1995), Handbook of Multicultural Counseling, Chapter 9, “An Updated of Helm’s White and People of Color Racial Identity Models”- J. Helms; Chapter 10, “BiRacial Identity Development: Theory and Research”- C. Kerwin and J.G. Ponterotto; Chapters 6-8 may also be of interest.

Tatum, B.D., Teaching White Students about Racism: The Search for White Allies and the Restoration of Hope, in Teachers College Record, Volume 95, No. 4, Summer 1994.

ARTICLES (Packet available in the school book ordering service)*

Grey, C. (1993). Culture, Character and the Analytic Engagement.

Contemporary Psychoanalysis, 29/3, pp. 487-505.

In Post-Colonial Studies Reader (eds. Ashcroft, B., Griffiths, G., and Tiffin, H.).New York: Routledge, Z.

Ashcroft, B. (1995). New Ethnicities.

Sollors, W. (1995). Who is Ethnic?

Hall, S. (1995). New Ethnicities - Post Colonial Study.

Root, M. P. P. (1994). Mixed Race-Women of Color: Integrating Ethnic and Gender Identities in Psychotherapy. eds. Comaz-Diaz and Greene.

Gaines, Stanley (1995). Prejudice from Allport to Qubois.American Psychologist, 50, 2, 96-103.

Smart (1995). Acculturative Stress of Hispanics.Journal of Counseling and Development, 73, Mar-Apr, 390-395.

Pope (1995). The Salad Bowl is Big Enough For Us.Journal of Counseling and Development, 73, Jan-Feb, 301-304.

Longman (1995). Including Jews in Multiculturalism.Journal of Multicultural Counseling, 23, Oct, 223-235.

*All available in the ASPP/Chicago book ordering service.

Suggested Readings:

Morote-Sanchez, S. (1991, ISPP MA Thesis No. 74)Eurocentrism, Institutional Racism, and the Latino-Hispanic Self-Identity: The Colonial Identity. (1991 Thesis in ISPP library).

Gilligan, R., Rogers, A., Tolman, D. (1991). Women, Girls. & Psycho-therapy: Reframing Resistance.

In addition to the required readings you are required to view four of the following movies, in preparation for the class. You will be informed of which movies prior to the first class. These movies will be discussed during the second weekend of the course. Students may be asked to lead the class discussion on any of the movies assigned. Two critical comments on each movie are due at the beginning of the fourth day of class. The movies are available in the ISPP Library. The older movies may be available through NetFlix.

-“Bamboozled”, Spike Lee, Director

-“Crash”, Paul Haggis, Director

-“American History X”, Tony Kaye, Director

-“Smoke Signals”, Chris Eyre, Director

- "Do the Right Thing", Spike Lee, Director

- "Q & A", Sidney Lumet, Director

- "Thunderheart", Michael Apted, Director

- "The Joy Luck Club", Wayne Wan, Director: based on the novel by

Amy Tan.

It is important that you prepare for the first class by completing the reading

assignments.

Prior to or during class time, you may view and discuss several movies, including:

ETHNIC NOTIONS AND THE COLOR OF FEAR 1and 2, ON COMMON GROUND, AND IN WHOSE HONOR.

Technology: Pentium III CPU/ Windows 98; 128MB RAM printer; Microsoft Office: Acrobat (full version); Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 (PC), 5.0 (MAC), or Netscape Navigator 4.08; Norton Antivirus.

Course length: 5 days (approximate time 9am-6pm)

Contact Hours: 45 Hours

Credit Value: 3.0

Program Outcomes: The Doctoral program in Clinical Psychology at ArgosyUniversity, Chicago Campus is an APA accredited program (APA, 750 First St. NE, Washington, DC20002, 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 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:

  • Goal 1: Prepare professional psychologists to accurately, effectively, and ethically select, administer, score, interpret, and communicate findings of appropriate assessment methods informed by accepted psychometric standards and sensitive to the diverse characteristics and needs of clients.
  • Objective 1a: Accurately and ethically administer and score various psychodiagnostic instruments.
  • Objective 1b: Accurately interpret and synthesize assessment data in the context of diversity factors, referral questions, and specific objectives of the assessment, and organize and communicate results in writing and orally.
  • Objective 1c: Examine psychometric properties of psychological assessment instruments, and use that knowledge to evaluate, select, administer, and interpret psychological tests and measures appropriate for the client, the referral question, and the objectives of the assessment.
  • Goal 2: Prepare professional psychologists to select, implement, and evaluate psychological interventions consistent with current ethical, evidence-based, and professional standards, within a theoretical framework, and with sensitivity to the interpersonal processes of the therapeutic relationship and the diverse characteristics and needs of clients.
  • Objective 2a: Synthesize the foundations of clinical psychology, including psychopathology, human development, diagnosis, diversity, ethics, and various therapeutic models in clinical applications.
  • Objective 2b: Select, plan, and implement ethical and evidence-based interventions with sensitivity to the diverse characteristics and needs of clients.
  • Objective 2c: Demonstrate knowledge, skills, and attitudes to effectively implement and participate in psychological consultation and supervision.
    Objective 2d: Demonstrate personal development and self-reflective capacity, including growth of interpersonal skills, and therapeutic relationships.
  • Goal 3: Prepare professional psychologists to analyze the complexity and multidimensionality of human diversity, and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to understand diverse worldviews and the potential meaning of social, cultural, and individual differences for professional psychological services.
  • Goal 4: Prepare professional psychologists to examine the historical context and the current body of knowledge of biological, cognitive, affective, developmental, and social bases of human functioning.
  • Goal 5: Prepare professional psychologists to critically evaluate the current and evolving body of scholarly literature in psychology to inform professional practice.

Course Objectives:

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.

Assignment Table

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: Ashcroft, Sollars, Hall, Gaines

The reading assignments that must be completed before the second weekend are:

Berry: The Hidden Wound

Sue:

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.

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.

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: