Anti-Discriminatory Principles and Practice Assignment

Assignment

Unit 2: Anti-Discriminatory Principles and Practice Assignment

Contents:

Criteria 1

Definition of Main Cultural Divisions and Awareness of Main Differences

Criteria 2

Biographical Information Indicating Own Awareness of Cultural Heritage and Potential Impact This May Have On Relationship with Client

Criteria 3

Interaction with Client Scenario

Criteria 4

Inherent Power Differences and Steps to Limit Inequality

Criteria 5

Safety Needs for Self and Client

Bibliography

Criteria 1

Definition of Main Cultural Divisions and Awareness of Main Differences

Culture within this context is defined as the main social structural influences we were born into and which had an impact on the way that we perceive and react to the world around us. These influences are dictated by: race, colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, class and accent. In the Western world we believe that we are liberally minded and therefore relatively free of prejudice, but in reality this is not so. We have all inherited our parents, siblings and peers bigotries and some of these are deeply imbedded in our subconscious and are therefore not easily identified.

Cultural differences are usually highlighted when an individual culture is threatened; an example of this is the atrocities of 9/11 and the backlash of discrimination and abuse levelled at anyone from a Muslim or Middle Eastern background. This abuse showed how easily a group of people could be attacked just for the colour of their skin, their religious beliefs and for having a Middle Eastern surname. It also shows how labelling people can lead to mass discrimination and in extreme cases can be used to extremists use i.e. ‘ethnic cleansing’.

Labelling on the whole takes away the identity of the individual and dehumanises them; they are seen as a group with a tag and can be easily targeted by those who fear them. Our preconceptions of the ‘label’ can prevent us from getting to know and understand an individual for who they really are.

On the other side of the argument identifying cultural differences can educate an individual to a group’s religious belief, cultural needs and differences therefore allowing for greater understanding and provision and adaptation to that groups requirement.

Criteria 2

Biographical Information Indicating Own Awareness of Cultural Heritage and Potential Impact This May Have On Relationship with Client

This is a preview of the whole essay

My own cultural heritage is a ‘mixed bag’. I was brought up in a white middle class military background, with parents who had no strong religious beliefs, but who believed very strongly in their children being independent and ‘strong’ emotionally wise. I was extremely lucky in that I went to a military school, outside of England, where a number of different races mixed and discrimination of any kind was not tolerated. The first time I encountered any racial abuse and discrimination was when I returned to England and went to a School in the west of London. During the eighties England encountered major race riots and feelings of fear against ethnic minorities were running high. Children picked up on their parents fear and transformed it into abuse on minority groups at School. I was shocked to witness such abuse and could not involve myself, as I had been targeted as an outsider and different when I had first joined the school. This experience made me rebel against my father’s political beliefs and I became very left of centre in my political opinions, joining the anti apartheid movement and campaigning for minority rights. In my twenties I ‘outed’ myself as a gay woman and campaigned for Lesbian and Gay Rights, worked within a Women’s Centre and sat on the Council’s Equal Opportunities Board. This experience helped me to expand my knowledge base of issues surrounding women, disability, mental health issues and race issues.

This ‘mixed bag’ of cultural heritage has allowed me to understand and experience issues surrounding equality and discrimination to a greater degree than if I had reminded within the status quo of my parents beliefs. I believe to a greater part this will enable me to connect with my clients in understanding their feelings of being ‘different’ and as someone who has suffered abuse for being gay I believe I will have greater empathy with those that have been abused. On the negative side I believe that I will need to be more disciplined in being non judgemental when talking and listening to clients who have strong prejudices and views on issues which I believe are fundamental wrong. However identifying where the prejudice stems from and what the fear is should be an interesting challenge.

Criteria 3

Interaction with Client Scenario

For my interaction with a client scenario I have chosen a client who is male, black, working class, a Jehovah’s Witness and is eighteen years old. His name is ‘A’.

‘A’ has voluntarily asked for counselling through the College Counselling Service and is suffering from depression. ‘A’ states that he believes he is depressed as a result of:

Living in society which is not adhering to God’s will
The deterioration of the moral state due to liberal views on sex, homosexuality and women as equals
Feeling apart from Society as a result of his belief’s
Feeling under pressure from his peers in the Jehovah’s Witness Church to convert more non believers
Not really being sure about his belief’s
Feeling guilty about discussing his concerns with a non believer

A’s initial observations and concerns of me as his Counsellor were that:

I wasn’t a Jehovah’s Witness so may judge him on his religious belief’s
I was a women and therefore may not understand him as a man
I was white so could not understand the pressures on a young black male
I was a lot older than him and therefore could not relate to young people’s issues
I might persuade him to stop believing in God and become a non believer.

For our first session ‘A’ was very outspoken of his religious views, almost daring me to argue with him. He mentioned all the things he thought were the most extreme and would therefore get a reaction from me. ‘A’ tried to get me to express what my beliefs were and what I really thought of his; after a while the ‘baiting’ stopped as I refused to bite and provide a judgement. ‘A’ began to calm down and began to talk about why he felt so angry and why he felt so down and his guilt for admitting he wasn’t sure of all his beliefs. Over the next five sessions ‘A’ began to feel comfortable in being able to discuss his fears and doubts and to be able to express his anger at being judged by others as being different and therefore not ‘normal’

By providing a non judgmental environment for ‘A’ to discuss his inner most fears and feelings in, ‘A’ felt able to trust me to listen and guide him through his issues. ‘A’s initial anger and defensive stance abated and he felt safe to open up. ‘A’ displayed admirable courage in dealing with his prejudices and preconceptions of me and overcame these in order to explore his own core issues.

‘A’ provided a challenge to my own views, which on the whole are liberal and non extremist. However using the core conditions of the PC Approach and using my experience of working with ‘A’ as a opportunity to look at my own beliefs and prejudices enabled a ‘win, win’ situation to occur for both Client and Counsellor.

Criteria 4

Inherent Power Differences and Steps to Limit Inequality

The inherent power differences which exist between the client and the counsellor will always exist due to the nature of the relationship. The client often approaches the relationship feeling very vulnerable and looks towards to the Counsellor for advice and reassurance. The Counsellor does ‘hold some actual power: she controls the boundaries of time, setting, fee and will establish, even in negotiation boundaries about contact outside the session’ (*1). In being able to reduce this imbalance the client needs to feel respected and ‘loved’ by the Counsellor. Using the PCA in working with a Client enables them to feel:

Respected
Loved
Understood
Empathised With

Using skills such as active listening, paraphrasing, reflecting and good body language makes the client feel comfortable and empowered. As a Counsellor being aware of the client’s preconceptions provides opportunities to reduce some of the power imbalances by:

Asking the Client to address you by your first name and not by a formal title
Dressing in a smart casual way not in a suit
By (if at all possible) laying out the room in a non confrontational manner, with pictures or flowers in the room
By meeting your client’s needs, in physical terms, for example ensuring that there are tissues and a glass of water available.

A combination of providing for psychological and physical needs helps to restore the power balance to a more even keel.

There are it should be noted some advantages in having a difference in power; someone in the relationship has to set boundaries and the Counsellor is able to this. The Counsellor is present to facilitate a Client in resolving their own issues; the client’s recognition of the Counsellor as someone who is there to help and know what they are doing helps this process.

Criteria 5

Safety Needs for Self and Client, Individual and Organisational Responsibilities

It is necessary to ensure that the environment you are working from is both safe and secure for your client and yourself. You, as an individual have a responsibility under Health and Safety Legislation to ensure that you do nothing to endanger yourself or another and should you do so you may be liable for prosecution or pursued for civil damages.

In any area of work there are health and safety concerns and requirements; these are especially relevant to lone workers and people who work with the public. As an individual Counsellor working for one’s self it is important that you have carried out a Risk Assessment of the premises you intend to work from; this should include reviewing escape routes, fire evacuation procedures, layout of the room, furniture, fixtures and fittings and potential hiding spots both within the building (if its open to the public) or in car park areas. The Risk Assessment also must address issues such potential threats and outcomes of a violent attack and what can be done to minimise this from occurring and should it occur what methods there are of alerting others for help. Additional personal training in conflict management and anger management may be required; this would benefit not only the Counsellor but the Client as well. Also as an individual it is important to ensure you have obtained the correct insurance cover; Public Liability etc.

Working with an organisation it is important to have read and understood any risk assessments pertaining to your activity and ensure that you are familiar with protocols and procedures to deal with incidents. Making sure you are aware of location, layout, alarm points and escape routes is also good practice.

Clients require a safe environment to be in when they are talking about feelings as sometimes these may pour out as extreme anger, which is not premeditated, and can sometimes leads to violent behaviour. Having minimised potential hazards in the room and organised procedures for dealing with such behaviour limits risk to both parties. It is important to note though that overt measures such as using a desk as a physical barrier between you and the client will have an opposite reaction; leaving the client feeling vulnerable and not trusted; so measures taken need to address this factor.

Having a safe environment to work in provides the platform for the relationship that is necessary for an effective therapeutic relationship to exist in.