PURSUING ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURAL COMPETENCE

Course overview

This course is based upon material published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and is part of their recently published Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) on improving cultural competence. According to SAMHSA ¿ The development of culturally responsive clinical skills is vital to the effectiveness of behavioral health services. According to Cross et al in 2001 cultural competency is a set of behaviors, attitudes, and policies that . . . enable a system, agency, or group of professionals to work effectively in cross-cultural situations This Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) uses Sues (2001) multidimensional model for developing cultural competence. Adapted to address cultural competence across behavioral health settings, this model serves as a frame-work for targeting three organizational levels of treatment: individual counselor and staff, clinical and programmatic, and organizational and administrative. Chapter 4 ¿ Organizational cultural competence is a dynamic, ongoing process that begins with awareness and commitment and evolves into culturally responsive organizational policies and procedures. A commitment to improving cultural competence must include resources to help support ongoing fidelity to these policies and procedures along with an ongoing process of reassessment and adaptation as client and community needs evolve. This course presents 20 organizational tasks that support counselors development of cultural competence and improve organizational development of culturally responsive treatment services. It is mainly designed for administrators, supervisors, executives and human resource personnel. This course will help leaders in behavioral health settings improve the cultural competence of their clinical staff. Although this document was written from the perspective of providing drug treatment services, it contains some of the most current research and collaboration from renowned sources in the field. It was extensively revised and vetted by a wide array of behavioral health specialists and has undergone a more rigorous screening and review than most peer reviewed publication. As a result, the information is appropriate for clinicians who work with a wide variety of presenting problems, not just those involved in substance abuse treatment. This course is appropriate for beginning, intermediate and advanced level practitioners who wish to develop their understanding of cultural competence. The course material provides a list of organizational tasks that will improve an organizations cultural competence. It includes methods for enhancing cultural competence in an organization. This course is particularly useful for licensed clinicians who require clinical continuing education courses for license renewal. It is especially appropriate for behavioral health workers who require cross cultural counseling content for license renewal. Authors: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Come visit us on the web at www.ce-classes.com