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, Indigeneity, gender, gender identity, age, ability, sexual orientation, religion, spirituality, 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, as well as cultural and 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 analyses of the influences of cultural identities and social locations on the counsellor, the client(s), the therapeutic relationship, and the counselling process.

Outline

• Week 1 Culturally Responsive and Socially Just Counselling and Collaboration
• Week 2 Complexity of Cultural Identity and Relationality
• Week 3 Multiplicity and Subjectivity of Worldviews
• Week 4 Social Injustice and Social Determinants of Health
• Week 5 An Uneven Playing Field: Privilege, Oppression, and Marginalization
• Week 6 Nondominant and Dominant Cultural Identity Development
• Week 7 Cross-Cultural Transitioning, Internalized Oppression, and Trauma
• Week 8 Professional Identity: Antiracism and Anti-Oppression
• Week 9 Socially Just Practice and Justice Doing
• Week 10 Culturally Responsive Case Conceptualization
• Week 11 Intervention Planning and Adapting our Counselling Models
• Week 12 Systems Level Change
• Week 13 Continuing Competency and Professional Identity Development

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 assessment structure for GCAP 633: Sociocultural and Systemic Influences is based on the following course activities, with the percentage weighting of each activity as indicated. Your final grade for the course will be a composite mark based on your performance in these course activities. The weighting of assignments is as follows:

Materials

Physical course materials

The following course materials are included in a course package that will be shipped to your home prior to your course’s start date:

Collins, S. (2018). Embracing cultural responsivity and social justice: Re-shaping professional identity in counselling psychology. Counselling Concepts. https://counsellingconcepts.ca/

Collins, S. (2018). Culturally responsive and socially just counselling: Teaching and learning guide. Faculty of Health Disciplines, Athabasca University. https://crsjguide.pressbooks.com/

Other Materials

All other materials are available to students online.

Important links

• Student services in FHD
• Support services at AU
• Faculty of Graduate Studies
• Faculty of Health Disciplines
• Graduate Calendar