Cultural Competency Guidelines
Cross Model of Psychological Nigrescence The Black identity models are the models that I would most likely apply to myself. Specifically, I would utilize the Cross model of psychological nigrescence (the process of becoming Black). The Cross model was first developed during the civil rights era and contains a five-stage process in which Blacks in the United States move from a White frame of reference to a more positive Black frame of reference (Sue & Sue, 2016). There are five stages in the Cross model. Preencounter is the first stage. In this stage African Americans diminish their Black heritage and place a higher importance on White ways and values. At this stage there is evidence of self-hate, low …show more content…
The African American will withdraw from the ideals of the dominant White culture and become more immersed in the African American culture and start to internalize positive attitudes toward their own Black culture (Sue & Sue, 2016). An increase sense of pride begins to develop during this stage. Internalization is when conflicts between the old and new identities are resolved (Sue & Sue, 2016). The person becomes more tolerant and anti-White feelings begin to diminish. The final stage is internalization-commitment. The individual makes a commitment toward making social change, social justice, and civil rights (Sue & Sue, 2016). The person becomes active in making this change instead of just verbally saying what they want to …show more content…
Being white has possibly protected individuals from many kinds of hostility, distress, and acts of violence (McIntosh, 1990). With this knowledge in the back of my mind, I think how I would react to a white client that comes in with an issue that does not seem as bad as some of the issues other African Americans are going through. Would I tell them to stop complaining, at least you don’t have to worry about being killed because of the color of your skin? Definitely not! I would neither be understanding or effective if I let this bias interfere with helping a client. To be a good and effective counselor, I cannot marginalize what one person is going through for what other people are going through. Every person is different and will go through their own life experiences. With that being said, what affects one client one way will not affect another client the same way. Each individual deserves their own unique care and to feel like they are just as important as every other
Cross Model of Psychological Nigrescence The Black identity models are the models that I would most likely apply to myself. Specifically, I would utilize the Cross model of psychological nigrescence (the process of becoming Black). The Cross model was first developed during the civil rights era and contains a five-stage process in which Blacks in the United States move from a White frame of reference to a more positive Black frame of reference (Sue & Sue, 2016). There are five stages in the Cross model. Preencounter is the first stage. In this stage African Americans diminish their Black heritage and place a higher importance on White ways and values. At this stage there is evidence of self-hate, low …show more content…
The African American will withdraw from the ideals of the dominant White culture and become more immersed in the African American culture and start to internalize positive attitudes toward their own Black culture (Sue & Sue, 2016). An increase sense of pride begins to develop during this stage. Internalization is when conflicts between the old and new identities are resolved (Sue & Sue, 2016). The person becomes more tolerant and anti-White feelings begin to diminish. The final stage is internalization-commitment. The individual makes a commitment toward making social change, social justice, and civil rights (Sue & Sue, 2016). The person becomes active in making this change instead of just verbally saying what they want to …show more content…
Being white has possibly protected individuals from many kinds of hostility, distress, and acts of violence (McIntosh, 1990). With this knowledge in the back of my mind, I think how I would react to a white client that comes in with an issue that does not seem as bad as some of the issues other African Americans are going through. Would I tell them to stop complaining, at least you don’t have to worry about being killed because of the color of your skin? Definitely not! I would neither be understanding or effective if I let this bias interfere with helping a client. To be a good and effective counselor, I cannot marginalize what one person is going through for what other people are going through. Every person is different and will go through their own life experiences. With that being said, what affects one client one way will not affect another client the same way. Each individual deserves their own unique care and to feel like they are just as important as every other