Multicultural Awareness Course – Cultural Diversity & Awareness Training

• Online course | Self-paced | No deadlines | Start anytime to suit you.
  
  
• 8 lessons | Learn about cultural diversity and self-awareness, different cultures, racism, prejudice, in and out groups, discrimination, influences on individuals and group behaviour, mental health issues | Develop cultural competence.
  
  
• Written assignments | Practical exercises | Useful feedback and support from highly experienced tutors.
  
  
• Useful course for anyone interested in learning more about the multicultural world we live in | Study for interest or to improve your own practice.

Lesson Structure

There are 8 lessons in this course:

1. Cultural Diversity
   • Introduction
   • Defining culture
   • Elements of culture
   • Societal structures and processes
   • Subcultures
   • Key areas of cultural diversity
   • Cultural behaviour
   • Values
   • Social discourse
   • Ideology
   • Expectations
   • Problems of culture
2. Cultural Self-Awareness
   • Introduction
   • Defining cultural self
   • Environmental influences
   • Family or social group
   • Definitions of self
   • Psychological influences
   • Human nature
   • Personal autonomy
   • Socio economic and political influences
   • Emphasis or minimisation of cultural diversity
   • Code switching
   • Physical environmental influences
3. Prejudice and Racism
   • Introduction
   • Ingroups or outgroups
   • Ethnocentrism
   • What is prejudice
   • Functions of prejudice
   • How we measure prejudice
   • Theoretical perspectives on prejudice
   • Stereotypes
   • Functions of stereotypes
   • Dangers of using stereotypes
   • Discrimination
   • Social discrimination
   • Racism
   • Institutional or structural racism
   • Perception
   • Perceptual change
   • Cognitive dissonance
   • Perceptual defence
   • Reducing prejudice
   • Changing stereotypes
   • Developing cultural sensitivity
   • Belonging to a dominant culture
4. Working with Culturally Different Clients
   • Introduction
   • Communicating across cultures
   • Principles of communication
   • Cultural differences
   • Communicating intimate information
   • The culturally skilled worker
   • Conformity
   • Factors affecting conformity
5. Barriers to Effective Multi-Cultural Relationships
   • Abnormality
   • The counsellors culture
   • The clients culture
   • Individual differences
   • Cross cultural communication hurdles
   • Culture shock
   • Non verbal communication
   • Developing trust
   • Formal judgements
   • Culture and child development
   • Coping with change
6. Developing Cultural Competence
   • Introduction
   • Culturally competent service delivery
   • Culturally appropriate service
   • Culturally accessible service
   • Culturally acceptable service
   • Training for cultural change
   • Cross culture counselling in disaster situations
   • The role of family
   • Working with other cultures
7. Multicultural Mental Health Issues
   • Introduction
   • Problems with cultural difference in psychology
   • Cultural influences on mental health
   • Culture bound syndromes
   • Trance and possession disorder
   • Factors affecting grief and bereavement: social, psychological and cultural influences
8. Shortcomings of Contemporary Counselling Theories and Future Developments
   • Introduction
   • Culture shock
   • Stages in cultural shock and adjustment
   • Post traumatic stress disorder
   • Treatments for culture distress
   • Successful intercultural adjustment

Aims

• Develop an awareness and appreciation of cultural diversity;
• Explain the cultural awareness of the self through verbal and non-verbal means;
• Explain the origins and influences of prejudice and racism;
• Explain the impact of culture when working with culturally different clients;
• Explain bias toward and barriers against effective multi-cultural relationships;
• Explain the fundamentals of developing and implementing cultural competence;
• Develop an understanding of multi-cultural attitudes toward mental health issues.

What You Will Do

• Learn what is meant by the term ‘culture’, and different cultural groups;
• Discuss ‘cultural diversity’ and identify problems associated with it;
• Discuss ‘intra-cultural’ and ‘inter-cultural’ contact to managing cultural diversity;
• Identify reasons that people and groups make intercultural contact;
• Explore how we communicate non-verbally;
• Identify ways (verbal and non-verbal) that we communicate our identification to a cultural group;
• In what ways a minority culture influence a dominant culture;
• Ways that people and groups adapt to other cultures;
• Explain the term ‘individualism-collectivism’;
• Define
  • ‘ethnocentrism’
  • ‘prejudice’
  • ‘racism’
  • ‘stereotype’
  • ‘discrimination’;
• Discuss how prejudice and/or racism help a group or person feel more comfortable about other cultures;
• Explore the role of stereotyping by a dominant culture in perceived discrimination by an immigrant community;
• Define ‘culture shock’;
• Identify barriers to communication that exist in intercultural communication situations;
• Identify strategies to ensure effective communication with a person from another culture;
• Explore the influence of culture differences when providing helping or counselling services to clients;
• Explore ways that people from different cultures deal with psychological or communication problems such as conflict, depression, mental health etc.

Any Questions?

Please click here to contact a tutor or Request a course handbook here.