Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Chapter 8 Diversity and Social Justice in Group Work Prepared by: Nathaniel N. Ivers, Wake Forest University

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e Samuel Gladding © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 8-2 Roadmap 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 © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 8-3 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 © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 8-4 Social Justice 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 © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 8-5 Stages of Social Justice Stage 1: Naivety Stage 2: Multicultural Integration Stage 3: Liberatory Critical Consciousness Stage 4: Empowerment Stage 5: Social Justice Advocacy (Ratts et al., 2010)

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e Samuel Gladding © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 8-6 Enhancing Social Justice in Groups “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 )

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e Samuel Gladding © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 8-7 Challenges of Culturally Diverse Groups Group leaders must understand the subjective and objective experience of group members (Tate et al., 2013) Understand what culture is Modify and apply group theory and techniques in ways that are culturally congruent (DeLucia-Waack, 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 © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 8-8 Types of Diversity-Related Groups Culture-Specific Groups Interpersonal Learning Groups Other-Content-Focused Groups (Merchant, 2009)

Groups: A Counseling Specialty, 7e Samuel Gladding © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 8-9 Myths about Multicultural Groups 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 © 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 © 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 © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Leadership in Culturally Diverse Groups 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 © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Increasing Cultural Competence 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 © 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 © 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Working with Different Cultural Populations 2014 US Census Bureau Data on Race/ethnicity: African American: 12% Native American: 1% Asian American: 5.6% Hispanic: 14% European American: 65% Two or more races: 2%