Newsletter: Winter 2002: A New View on Achieving Cultural Competency

I was fortunate to attend the Rape Crisis Training Institute's program, "Contemporary Issues in Cultural Competency" (April/May, 2001). This three part series that took place at Long Island College Hospital was enlightening and refreshing. The program's facilitators, Caroline Rosenthal, DSW and Cheryl Franks, DSW, from the New York University and Columbia University Schools of Social Work, respectively, had a distinct approach that emphasized the importance of self-awareness as the key to beginning the journey towards cultural competency.

Dr. Rosenthal and Dr. Franks offered a combination of didactic presentations and experiential interactions to engage the participants and present invaluable information. The experiential exercises offered the participants an opportunity to begin to explore their own biases and misperceptions of others. The handout materials and literature were valuable in the continuing process of becoming a more culturally competent individual.

In an attempt to educate oneself about a particular culture, participants learned that it is critical not to become a "mini-anthropologist." Looking at a culture through a magnifying lens enables us to put people in boxes, allowing for stereotypes and prejudice to exist. As an alternative, Drs. Rosenthal and Franks look at the complexity of culture and define it from a multidimensional perspective. They warned us not to assume that any culture is monolithic, and encouraged us to recognize that culture means different things to different people. I appreciated the emphasis placed on cultural complexity, as this perspective is in keeping with my reality.

The program also stressed that it is important to recognize the ways in which racism affects White people. The facilitators acknowledged that racism prevents Whites from reaching their full human development. They explained that racism will prevail unless Whites realize their power and privilege and join the struggle to end racism.

I look forward to continuing the process of achieving cultural competency both personally and in my agency. I hope that others will join in that effort as well. The Contemporary Issues in Cultural Competency Workshop is a constructive guide in that process.

Daisy Arroyo, CSW attended the workshop as a social worker in the Long Island College Hospital Rape Crisis Intervention/Victims Of Violence Program in 2001. The Rape Crisis Training Institute is dedicated to the improvement of cultural competency in our community. In January 2002 Drs. Franks and Rosenthal returned to present a modified two-day workshop. This year's program included the Dialogue, Awareness, Tolerance (DAT) Model currently being developed and refined by the Coalition Advancing Social Justice. The model provides group structure in which to address the rising tide of intolerance in organizations with staff at all levels, and in the community, in the wake of September 11th. The workshop was a great success.

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