Students with a disability, who require academic accommodation, need to register with the Access to Students with Disabilities Centre at Athabasca University. Notification of the need for academic accommodation must normally be provided to the program office no later than fourteen (14) days prior to the first day of class. It is the student's responsibility to register with the ASD Centre to request academic accommodation if required and to notify the Course Coordinator that such accommodation has been requested. Every reasonable effort will be made to accommodate individual student needs. However, because GCAP courses are paced, all students are required to participate weekly in the online discussion forums. There are also several courses where online exams and other interactive components are required.
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
Domain I Ubiquitous Nature of Culture
Week 1 Culturally Responsive and Socially Just (CRSJ) Counselling
Week 2 Complexity of Cultural Identity and Relationality
Week 3 Multiplicity and Subjectivity of Worldviews
Domain II Attending to Social Location
Week 4 Social Injustice and Social Determinants of Health
Week 5 An Uneven Playing Field: Privilege and Marginalization
Week 6 Nondominant and Dominant Cultural Identity Development
Week 7 Cross-Cultural Transitioning, Internalized Oppression, and Trauma
Domain III Professional Identity
Week 8 Professional Identity: Anti-Oppression and Justice-Doing
Domain V Case Conceptualization
Week 9 Responsive Case Conceptualization and Intervention Planning
Domain VI Enacting Multilevel Change
Weeks 10 and 11 Systems Level Change and Socially Just Practice
Domain III Professional Identity
Week 12 Student-Lead Learning Activities
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.
Activity
Weight
Professional Writing Learning Plan
Pass/Fail
Assignment 1 Risk-Taking Journal
15%
Assignment 2 Cultural Profile
15%
Assignment 3 Cultural Interview
30%
Assignment 3 Participant Consent Form
Pass/Fail
Assignment 4 Learning Activity and Discussion Leadership
20%
Assignment 5 Class Discussions and Problem-Based Learning
20%
Total
100%
Materials
Collins, S. (2018). Embracing cultural responsivity and social justice: Re-shaping professional identity in counselling psychology. Counselling Concepts. https://counsellingconcepts.ca/ (Print)
Collins, S. (2018). Culturally responsive and socially just counselling: Teaching and learning guide. Faculty of Health Disciplines, Athabasca University. https://crsjguide.pressbooks.com/ (Print)
Other Materials
All other materials are available to students online.
Athabasca University reserves the right to amend course outlines occasionally and without notice. Courses offered by other delivery methods may vary from their individualized study counterparts.