Group a counseling specialty 7e pearson by t gladding chapter 08

Chapter 8
Diversity and Social Justice in
Group Work
Prepared by: Nathaniel N. Ivers, Wake Forest University

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e
© 2016 Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.


Roadmap
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Diversity
Social Justice
Stages of Social Justice
Enhancing Social Justice in Groups
Challenges of Culturally Diverse Groups
Types of Diversity-Related Groups
Myths about Multicultural Groups
Goals of Diverse and Multicultural Groups

Leadership in Culturally Diverse Groups
Increasing Cultural Competence
Working with Different Cultural Populations

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e
Samuel Gladding

8-2

© 2016 Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.


Diversity
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Diversity


Associated with race, ethnicity, language,
culture, gender, socioeconomic class, sexual
orientation, religion, ableism, and disability
(Diller, 2014)



Relates to people who differ widely in regard
to their lifestyles and worldviews and where
differences in communication styles,
messages affect the way in which groups are

set up and conducted (Conyne et al., 2000; Shechtman &
Perl-Dekel, 2000)

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e
Samuel Gladding

8-3

© 2016 Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.


Social Justice


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Similar to diversity in its examination of
differences among people
Emphasizes “fair and equitable distribution
of power, resources, and obligations in
society of all people” regardless of their
background (Hage et al., 2010, p. 103).
In group work, social justice emphasizes
“empowerment, self-determination,
advocacy, and change” (Singh & Salazar, 2010, p. 97).

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e

Samuel Gladding

8-4

© 2016 Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.


Stages of Social Justice
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Stage
Stage
Stage
Stage
Stage

1:
2:
3:
4:
5:

Naivety
Multicultural Integration
Liberatory Critical Consciousness

Empowerment
Social Justice Advocacy
(Ratts et al., 2010)

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e
Samuel Gladding

8-5

© 2016 Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.


Enhancing Social Justice in Groups
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

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“Be intentional about having diversity of group
membership and avoid representation/token
members of a marginalized community”
“Use structured activities to talk about issues
of privilege and oppression”
“Facilitate consciousness raising and create
awareness of social justice in group members
by processing issues of oppression in the
moment”
(Burnes & Ross, 2010, p. 171-175)

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e
Samuel Gladding

8-6

© 2016 Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.


Challenges of Culturally Diverse
Groups


Group leaders must understand the
subjective and objective experience of group
members (Tate et al., 2013)
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Understand what culture is
Modify and apply group theory and techniques
in ways that are culturally congruent (DeLuciaWaack, 1996, p. 218)



Develop group theory and techniques that
“acknowledge, explore, and use group
member differences to facilitate change and
growth” (DeLucia-Waack, 1996, p. 218)

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e
Samuel Gladding

8-7

© 2016 Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.


Types of Diversity-Related Groups
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Culture-Specific Groups
Interpersonal Learning Groups
Other-Content-Focused Groups
(Merchant, 2009)

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e
Samuel Gladding

8-8

© 2016 Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.


Myths about Multicultural Groups

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Discussion of racial or cultural differences is
offensive to group members and is best never
mentioned.
Groups can be homogenous so focusing on
diversity is not needed.
Group member differences do not matter and
seldom, if ever, affect the process and
outcome of task and psychoeducational
groups.
Group work theories are appropriate for all
clients all the time.

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e
Samuel Gladding

8-9

© 2016 Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.


Goals of Diverse and Multicultural

Groups
Goals often fall into the following categories:
Remediation
Prevention
Task orientation
Intra- and Interpersonal Processes

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e
Samuel Gladding

8-10

© 2016 Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.


Goals of Diverse and Multicultural
Groups
Three common goals:
1.To understand the situation that brought the
person to the group from a cultural perspective
2.“To approach all events and behavior in the
group from a functional perspective”
3.“To help members make sense of “new
behaviors, beliefs, and skills within a cultural
context”
(DeLucia-Waack, 1996, p. 171)

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e
Samuel Gladding

8-11

© 2016 Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.


Leadership in Culturally Diverse
Groups
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
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Cultural Awareness
Consciousness regarding issues of culture
that influence group members’
backgrounds
Comfort with one’s own identity
Ability to empathize with culturally
different group members

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e
Samuel Gladding

8-12

© 2016 Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.

Increasing Cultural Competence
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Consult with minority counselors about
working with groups they may already be
serving
Become immersed in culturally enriching and
sensitive traditions
Take note of needs and issues of minority
groups
Take language lessons and pronunciation
training
(Johnson et al., 1995)

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e
Samuel Gladding

8-13

© 2016 Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.

Increasing Cultural Competence


Examine your family as a place where you
learned about culture and relationships
with others (Ivey et al., 2014)



Engage in didactic and experiential
education

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e
Samuel Gladding

8-14

© 2016 Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.


Working with Different Cultural
Populations
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2014 US Census Bureau Data on
Race/ethnicity:
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African American: 12%
Native American: 1%
Asian American: 5.6%
Hispanic: 14%
European American: 65%
Two or more races: 2%

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e
Samuel Gladding

8-15

© 2016 Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.