Graduate Counselling and Applied Psychology (GCAP) 633

Overview

This course examines the sociocultural influences on psychosocial and cultural identity development and management, with particular attention to the social determinants of health, the impact of cultural oppression on nondominant populations, and the importance applying a contextualized and systemic perspective to case conceptualization. Culture is defined broadly to emphasize diversity across ethnicity, nationality, gender/gender identity, age, ability, sexual orientation, religion, language, and social class. A multicultural and social justice lens is applied to understanding within and between group differences, dominant and nondominant sociocultural discourses, life and cross-cultural transitions, and cultural/worldview differences in perspectives on development, health, and healing. Students will enhance their competencies for culturally responsive and socially just counselling. Critical, feminist, multicultural, and constructivist metatheoretical lenses will be applied to analysis of the influence of cultural identities and social locations on the counsellor, the client(s), the therapeutic relationship, and the counselling process.

Outline

• Lesson 1: Culturally Responsive and Socially Just Practice
• Lesson 2: The Complexity of Cultural Identity:  Cultural Self-Awareness and Awareness of Client Culture
• Lesson 3: Social Determinants of Health: The Systemic Influences on Indigenous Populations
• Lesson 4: Culturally Sensitive Working Alliance: Culturally Diverse Perspectives on Development, Health, and Healing
• Lesson 5: Multicultural and Feminist Practice: Intersections of Gender and Ethnicity
• Lesson 6: Cross-Cultural Transitions: Immigrants, Refugees, and International Students
• Lesson 7: Ethnicity, Privilege, and Racism
• Lesson 8: Socially Just Practice: A Contextualized and System Perspective
• Lesson 9: Challenging Social Discourses: Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation
• Lesson 10: Anti-Oppressive and Affirmative Therapies: Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation
• Lesson 11: Confronting Personal and Professional Marginalization: Persons with Disabilities
• Lesson 12: Cultural Interviews: Personal and Professional Critical Reflections
• Lesson 13: Continued Competency in Multicultural Counselling

Course Evaluation

To receive credit for GCAP 633, students must submit all of the course assignments. The passing grade for the course is B- (70%). The weighting of assignments is as follows.