Multicultural Social Work Practice Derald Wing Sue JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC. Multicultural Social Work Practice Multicultural Social Work Practice Derald Wing Sue JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC. This book is printed on acid-free paper. o Copyright © 2006 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey. Published simultaneously in Canada. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600, or on the web at www.copyright.com. 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ISBN-13 978-0-471-66252-5 ISBN-10 0-471-66252-6 Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 CONTENTS Foreword xiii Preface xvii Part I The Conceptual Dimensions of Multicultural Social Work Practice 1 Chapter 1 Principles and Assumptions of Multicultural Social Work Practice 3 The Diversification of the United States and Implications for Social Work 4 The Graying of the Workforce and Society 4 The Feminization of the Workforce and Society 5 The Changing Complexion of the Workforce and Society 6 Cultural Diversity and the Challenge to Social Work 7 Theme One: Cultural Universality versus Cultural Relativism 10 Theme Two: The Emotional Consequences of “Race and/or Differences” 11 Theme Three: The Inclusive or Exclusive Nature of Multiculturalism 12 Theme Four: The Sociopolitical Nature of Social Work Practice 13 Theme Five: The Nature of Culturally Competent Social Work Practice 14 The Multiple Dimensions of Human Existence 15 Individual and Universal Biases in Social Work 18 What Is Multicultural Social Work Practice? 20 v vi Contents Chapter 2 Becoming Culturally Competent in Social Work Practice 23 Defining Cultural Competence in Social Work Practice 23 The Four Components of Cultural Competence 24 Competency One: Becoming Aware of One’s Own Assumptions, Values, and Biases about Human Behavior 25 Competency Two: Understanding the Worldview of Culturally Diverse Clients 26 Competency Three: Developing Appropriate Intervention Strategies and Techniques 27 Competency Four: Understanding Organizational and Institutional Forces that Enhance or Negate Cultural Competence 28 A Working Definition of Cultural Competence 29 Multidimensional Model of Cultural Competence in Social Work 30 Dimension I: Group-Specific Worldviews 32 Dimension II: Components of Cultural Competence 32 Dimension III: Foci of Social Work Interventions 37 Implications for Social Work Practice 38 Part II The Political Dimensions of Social Work Practice 41 Chapter 3 Understanding the Sociopolitical Implications of Oppression in Social Work Practice 43 Effects of Historical and Current Oppression 47 Ethnocentric Monoculturalism 49 Belief in Superiority 50 Belief in the Inferiority of Others 50 Power to Impose Standards 51 Manifestation in Institutions 51 The Invisible Veil 52 Historical Manifestations of Ethnocentric Monoculturalism 53 Impact of Ethnocentric Monoculturalism in Helping Relationships 55 Contents vii Credibility and Attractiveness in Multicultural Social Work Practice 57 Credibility of Social Worker 57 Implications for Social Work Practice 61 Chapter 4 Sociopolitical Dimensions of Worldviews 63 The Formation of Worldviews 65 Value Orientation Model of Worldviews 66 Locus of Control 68 Locus of Responsibility 71 Formation of Worldviews 73 Internal Locus of Control (IC)–Internal Locus of Responsibility (IR) 74 External Locus of Control (EC)–Internal Locus of Responsibility (IR) 77 External Locus of Control (EC)–External Locus of Responsibility (ER) 78 Internal Locus of Control (IC)–External Locus of Responsibility (ER) 80 Part III Racial/Cultural Identity Development: Social Work Implications 85 Chapter 5 Racial/Cultural Minority Identity Development 87 Racial/Cultural Identity Development Models 88 Black Identity Development Models 89 Other Racial/Ethnic Identity Development Models 90 Feminist Identity Theory 91 A Working Racial/Cultural Identity Development Model 92 Conformity Stage 93 Dissonance Stage 98 Resistance and Immersion Stage 99 Introspection Stage 101 Integrative Awareness Stage 103 Social Work Implications of the R/CID Model 104 viii Contents Chapter 6 White Racial Identity Development 107 What Does It Mean to Be White? 107 42-year-old White Business Man 107 26-year-old White Female College Student 108 65-year-old White Male Retired Construction Worker 108 34-year-old White Female Stockbroker 108 29-year-old Latina Administrative Assistant 109 39-year-old Black Male Salesman 109 21-year-old Chinese American Male College Student (majoring in ethnic studies) 110 The Invisible Whiteness of Being 110 Understanding the Dynamics of Whiteness 112 Models of White Racial Identity Development 114 The Hardiman White Racial Identity Development Model 115 The Helms White Racial Identity Model 117 The Process of White Racial Identity Development: A Descriptive Model 120 Conformity Phase 122 Dissonance Phase 123 Resistance and Immersion Phase 125 Introspection Phase 126 Integrative Awareness Phase 127 Implications for Social Work Practice 127 Part IV The Practice Dimensions of Multicultural Social Work 129 Chapter 7 Barriers to Effective Multicultural Clinical Practice 131 Generic Characteristics of Counseling/Therapy 135 Sources of Conflict and Misinterpretation in Clinical Practice 138 Culture-Bound Values 138 Class-Bound Values 145 Language Barriers 148 Contents ix Generalizations and Stereotypes: Some Cautions 149 Implications for Social Work Practice 150 Chapter 8 Cultural Styles in Multicultural Intervention Strategies 153 Communication Styles 155 Nonverbal Communication 156 Proxemics 157 Kinesics 158 Paralanguage 160 High-/Low-Context Communication 162 Sociopolitical Facets of Nonverbal Communication 164 Nonverbals as Reflections of Bias 165 Nonverbals as Triggers to Biases and Fears 167 Differential Skills in Multicultural Social Work Practice 170 Implications for Social Work Practice 171 Chapter 9 Multicultural Family Counseling and Therapy 173 Family Systems Approaches and Assumptions 179 Issues in Working with Ethnic Minority Families 181 Ethnic Minority Reality 181 Conflicting Value Systems 182 Biculturalism 182 Ethnic Differences in Minority Status 183 Ethnicity and Language 185 Ethnicity and Social Class 186 Multicultural Family Social Work: A Conceptual Model 187 People-Nature Relationship 188 Time Dimension 189 Relational Dimension 191 Activity Dimension 192 Nature of People Dimension 194 Implications for Social Work Practice 195 x Contents Chapter 10 Non-Western and Indigenous Methods of Healing 199 Spirit Attacks: The Case of Vang Xiong 199 Symptoms and Cause 200 Shamanic Cure 200 The Legitimacy of Culture-Bound Syndromes: Nightmare Deaths and the Hmong Sudden Death Phenomenon 201 Causation and Spirit Possession 203 The Shaman as Therapist: Commonalities 206 A Case of Child Abuse? 207 The Principles of Indigenous Healing 211 Holistic Outlook, Interconnectedness, and Harmony 213 Belief in Metaphysical Levels of Existence 216 Spirituality in Life and the Cosmos