Critical Thinking

      Complete the following “Culture Sketch” from Pamela Hays’s (2016) Addressing Cultural Complexities in Practice: Assessment, Diagnosis and Therapy

      Your Cultural Self-Assessment

      Age and generational influences: When you were born, what were the social expectations for a person of your identity? What are they now? Do you identify with a particular generation (e.g., baby boomers, millennials, Generation X, Y, or Z, iGen)? How have your values and worldview been shaped by the social movements of or influences on your generation (e.g., Vietnam War, women’s movement, Stonewall riots, Americans With Disabilities Act, civil rights movement, 9/11, social media, economic downturn, university costs, climate change, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, current issues of immigration in the United States and other countries, gender fluidity, etc.)? What generational roles are core to your identity (e.g., aunt, father, adult child, grandparent)? How have these roles influenced your life?

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      Developmental or other disability: Where you born with a disability, or did you acquire one later in life? If yes, is it a visible or nonvisible disability (e.g., chronic pain, psychiatric illness or cognitive impairment)? If no, have you been a caregiver for or lived with someone who has a disability? How has disability affected your life and opportunities?

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      Religion and spiritual orientation: Were you brought up in a religious or spiritual tradition? Do you identify with a religion or have a spiritual practice now? How were your values and goals shaped by your religious or nonreligious upbringing? If you were not raised with a religion, how has this impacted your life?

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      Ethnic and racial identity: What do you consider your ethnic or racial identity? If you were adopted, what are the identities of your biological and adoptive parents? How do other people identify you? Are these the same? Are there ethnic or racial differences within your family? If so, how are these differences perceived, and how have they affected you?

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      Socioeconomic status: What social class did you grow up in, and what do you consider to be your socioeconomic status now? When you were in high school, what were the educational and work opportunities available to you? Do you have peer-level relationships with people who differ from you socioeconomically (i.e., defined by education, income, and occupational levels)?

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      Sexual orientation: Do you identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, heterosexual, pansexual, or other orientation? If you are heterosexual, do you have a family member or friend whose identity lies under the LGBTQ rainbow? Is your family accepting of members of this community? How has your minority or dominant sexual orientation affected your relationships and educational and work experiences?

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      Indigenous heritage: Do you have any Native heritage—for example, Native Hawaiian, First Nations, Alaska Native, American Indian, New Zealand Maori, or Aboriginal Australian? Did you grow up on or near a reservation or Native community? If so, how has this affected you? If not, how has the lack of such experience affected you? Do you belong to a culture that has a multigenerational connection to a particular land, water, or place?

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      National origin: Are you a US citizen, an international student, or an immigrant? Were you born in the United States? Do you (and your parents and grandparents) speak English as a first language? How has your English-language ability affected your life and opportunities? How has your nationality affected your life and opportunities?

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      Gender: What were and are the gender-related roles and expectations for you in your family of origin and current family? When you were a teenager, what were the norms, values, and gender roles supported within your family, by your peers, in your culture, and in the dominant culture? How have these expectations affected your choices in life? If your gender is non-binary, how does this fit into your family understandings and expectations?

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      Source: Hays (2016, pp. 42–43). Copyright 2016 by the American Psychological Association.

      Take Part

      We are all at different stages with our level of comfort on topics involving multiculturalism.