COURSE AIM

To develop your understanding of culture, diversity and multicultural society.

COURSE STRUCTURE AND CONTENTS

There are 8 lessons in this course as follows: 

Lesson 1. Cultural Diversity

• Introduction.
• Defining culture.
• Elements of culture.
• Societal structures and processes.
• Subcultures.
• Key areas of cultural diversity.
• Cultural behaviour.
• Values.
• Social discourse.
• Ideology.
• Expectations.
• Problems.

Lesson 2. Cultural Self-Awareness

• Introduction.
• Defining cultural self.
• Environmental influences.
• Family or social group.
• Definitions of self.
• Psychological influences.
• Human nature.
• Personal autonomy.
• Socio economic and political influences.
• Emphasis or minimisation of cultural diversity.
• Code switching.
• Physical environmental influences.

Lesson 3. Prejudice and Racism

• Introduction.
• Ingroups or outgroups.
• Ethnocentrism.
• What is prejudice.
• Functions of prejudice.
• How we measure prejudice.
• Theoretical perspectives on prejudice.
• Stereotypes.
• Functions of stereotypes.
• Dangers of using stereotypes.
• Discrimination.
• Social discrimination.
• Racism.
• Institutional or structural racism.
• Perception.
• Perceptual change.
• Cognitive dissonance.
• Perceptual defence.
• Reducing prejudice.
• Changing stereotypes.
• Developing cultural sensitivity.
• Belonging to a dominant culture.

Lesson 4. Working with Culturally Different Clients

• Introduction.
• Communicating across cultures.
• Principles of communication.
• Cultural differences.
• Communicating intimate information.
• The culturally skilled worker.
• Conformity.
• Factors affecting conformity.

Lesson 5. Barriers to Effective Multi-Cultural Relationships

• Abnormality.
• The counsellor's culture.
• The clients culture.
• Individual differences.
• Cross cultural communication hurdles.
• Culture shock.
• Non-verbal communication.
• Developing trust.
• Formal judgements.
• Culture and child development.
• Coping with change.

Lesson 6. Developing Cultural Competence

• Introduction.
• Culturally competent service delivery.
• Culturally appropriate service.
• Culturally accessible service.
• Culturally acceptable service.
• Training for cultural change.
• Cross culture counselling in disaster situations.
• The role of family.
• Working with other cultures.

Lesson 7. Multicultural Mental Health Issues

• Introduction.
• Problems with cultural difference in psychology.
• Cultural influences on mental health.
• Culture bound syndromes.
• Trance and possession disorder.
• Factors affecting grief and bereavement: social, psychological and cultural
  influences.

Lesson 8.  Shortcomings of Contemporary Counselling Theories and Future Developments

• Introduction.
• Culture shock.
• Stages in cultural shock and adjustment.
• Post traumatic stress disorder.
• Treatments for culture distress.
• Successful intercultural adjustment.

LESSON AIMS

• Develop an awareness and appreciation of cultural diversity.
• Explain the cultural awareness of the self through verbal and non-verbal means.
• Explain the origins and influences of prejudice and racism.
• Explain the impact of culture when working with culturally different clients.
• Explain bias toward and barriers against effective multi-cultural relationships.
• Explain the fundamentals of developing and implementing cultural competence.
• Describe multi-cultural attitudes toward mental health issues.

WHAT YOU WILL DO IN THIS COURSE

• Learn what is meant by the term ‘culture’, and different cultural groups.
• Discuss ‘cultural diversity’ and identify problems associated with it.
• Discuss ‘intra-cultural’ and ‘inter-cultural’ contact to managing cultural diversity.
• Identify reasons that people and groups make inter-cultural contact.
• Explore how we communicate non-verbally.
• Identify ways (verbal and non-verbal) that we communicate our identification to a cultural group.
• In what ways a minority culture influences a dominant culture.
• Ways that people and groups adapt to other cultures.
• Explain the term ‘individualism-collectivism’.
• Define the terms - ‘ethnocentrism’, 'prejudice’, ‘racism’, ‘stereotype’, ‘discrimination’.
• Explore the role of stereotyping by a dominant culture in perceived discrimination by an immigrant community.
• Discuss how prejudice and/or racism help a group or person feel more comfortable about other cultures.
• Define ‘culture shock’.
• Identify barriers to communication that exist in inter-cultural communication situations.
• Identify strategies to ensure effective communication with a person from another culture.
• Explore the influence of culture differences when providing helping or counselling services to clients.
• Explore ways that people from different cultures deal with psychological or communication problems such as conflict, depression, mental health etc.

What Next?

Study multicultural awareness and learn more about diverse cultures and the multicultural world in which we live.

You can enrol today by clicking the “Enrol Now” button above.

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