Privileged Identity Exploration: Examining Counselor Trainees' Reactions to Difficult Dialogues
✍ Scribed by Sherry K. Watt; Gregg C. Curtis; Jerri Drummond; Angela H. Kellogg; Adele Lozano; Gina Tagliapietra Nicoli; Marisela Rosas
- Book ID
- 102287121
- Publisher
- American Counseling Association
- Year
- 2009
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 147 KB
- Volume
- 49
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0011-0035
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
In this qualitative study, the authors examined master's-level counselor trainees' reactions to difficult dialogues in the classroom regarding racism, heterosexism/homophobia, and ableism over a 3-year period. Using the Consensual Qualitative Research method as introduced by C. E. Hill, B. J. Thompson, and E. N. Williams (1997), the data analysis team analyzed narrative and reaction papers submitted during a didactic course on multiculturalism. Behavioral reactions were identified that form the basis for this study: denial, deflection, rationalization, intellectualization, principium, false envy, minimization, and benevolence.
Increasing the number of multiculturally competent helping professionals in mental health and higher educational settings is an important goal for programs preparing counselors (Arredondo, 1999;Hill, 2003). According to Sue et al. (1982) and Sue, Arredondo, and McDavis (1992), multiculturally competent helping professionals possess culturally sensitive attitudes and beliefs, knowledge regarding issues of discrimination and cultural oppression, awareness of the histories of various cultural groups as well as their cultural values and worldviews, and culturally relevant skills to work successfully with culturally diverse clients.
Individuals have many choices regarding how they acquire the necessary knowledge, skills, and awareness to become multiculturally competent helping professionals (e.g., complete cultural competence coursework, participate in conference presentations and trainings, practice in the counseling field; Hill, 2003). Regardless of the method, multicultural competence does not occur without engaging in difficult conversations concerning aspects of diversity such as race, sexual orientation, and disability (Watt, 2007). A difficult dialogue can be defined as an exchange of ideas or opinions between individuals that