Multicultural Competency Paper

According to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, also known as the APA Manual, this manual is a guide that provides professionals, such as psychologists with the tools needed to acknowledge and utilize for changes, trainings, and educate the practices and research done that allows professions to support and assist individuals from different races, ethnic groups, and different cultural practices. The APA Manual guides professions in their field with basic information, terminology, and guidelines needed to successfully complete their performances required.

Multicultural Competency Paper
In 1990, a group of professions gathered together and began to draft a set of rules or guidelines to help individuals of different races, cultures, and ethnic groups be treated as an equal. Many of the members of this group where psychiatrist and had witnessed that the diversity continued to increase. Diversity is defined as “a person’s age, sexual orientation, disability, race, ethnicity, and spiritual orientation.” (Romano/McMahon, 595). In 2003, The American Psychological Association, also known as the APA had a council of Representatives that approved the guidelines and published them for others to use as educational tools, for trainings, terminology, and to help guide them with the changes in the workplace.

Guideline One
The American Psychology Association Manual Guideline One covers all psychologists and individuals who provide servicers to others to recognize the beliefs and values that he or she holds, including the individual helping out the individual who is seeking a service. This guideline covers the individual’s beliefs and values that influence his or her race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and the culture he or she is originally from.

My personal experience with this guideline can be demonstrated with my participation in activities at the elementary school that my daughter attends and participates in extracurricular activities.

During these groups, such as soccer, girl scouts, and cheerleading, there are individuals and families from different cultures and races that are involved in these activities and my daughter happens to be friends with a young girl who has different religious beliefs than our family. This young girl has come to our home for visits on several occasions and has stayed for dinner. We had valued her religious beliefs and made dinner that she could eat. For example, her family does not believe in eating pork, which was what my family had planned on having for dinner that evening. Due to her beliefs and values, we changed our dinner plans to accommodate and honor her traditions.

My professional experience with this guideline occurs when working with individuals with mental health symptoms, who request services from the agency that I am employed at. I have had the opportunity to work with individuals from different races, religion, ethnic groups, and sexual orientations and I have honored and valued the choices he or she had made. Accommodating the choices and assisting the individual with these traditions was a part of my job and I was happy to help them with this task.

Guideline Two
The American Psychology Association Manual Guideline Two covers all psychologists and individuals who provide servicers to others to recognize the negative effects of stereotyping and/or prejudice behaviors so that the profession and/or individual providing a service can help others understand the stereotype and negative talk about their culture and beliefs.

My personal experience with this guideline is seen on a daily basis because negative talk, prejudice, racism, and not understanding others
beliefs and values of culture is happening every day. For example, I have family members who don’t understand the changing times in today’s society and have a difficult time with different races in their community. I have been attempting to educate my family with the practices and values of the different cultures and races to stop negative talk and prejudice to improve the way of life in our community.

My professional experience with this guideline is more advanced because I work with the general public on a regular basis and my employer uses this opportunity to train the staff on the different cultures and their values, beliefs, and how to avoid racism, biases attitudes, and sets rules that judgmental behavior is prohibited.

Culturally Different Groups
When interacting with individuals from a different cultural group, whether it be professionally or personally, I do not force my beliefs and values onto them. I become familiar with the values and beliefs he or she values in their lifestyle to ensure I follow the perceptions and practices to make sure I do not discriminate, show prejudice, or appear to be racist because I value everyone as a person, not for the color of their skin or where they come from. Everyone has different opinions, beliefs, and cultural backgrounds, which does not always allow individuals to practice the same traditions.

Conclusion
In today’s culture, there is much diversity in the community and the workplace. I find it difficult, at times, to understand some of the traditions and beliefs of others, which can be weakness. Using resources that are available helps me keep up to date on the different races, cultures, and ethnic groups and the traditions and beliefs that are being practices. A strength that I have is communication skills, which helps me to ask questions to better communicate my intentions and become informed when I need to know something about the different cultural environments today. References

American Psychological Association (2003, May). Guidelines on multicultural education, training, research, practice, and organizational change for psychologists. American Psychologist, 58(5), 377. Romano, T. and McMahon, J. W. (2000). Psychology and You. Third Ed. NTC Group, 595.