Multicultural Considerations in the Assessment Process

Readings

Use The Substance-Related Disorder Assessment: A Roadmap to Effective Treatment Planning to read the following:

• Chapter 6, “Multicultural Considerations With Special Populations, Introduction to Assessment,” pages 63–80.

Use the Capella Library to read the following:

• Balkin, R. S., & Juhnke, G. A. (2017). Assessment in counseling: Practice and applications. Oxford University Press.
  • Read Chapter 8, “Multicultural and Special Population Assessment Issues in Counseling,” pages 138–150.

Discussion 1

Multicultural Considerations in the Assessment Process

After completing the readings for this unit, complete the following questions related to the case study in Chapter 6, “Multicultural Considerations with Special Populations,” in the course text:

“Rob is a 23-year-old African American male. He is currently engaged and has one child with his fiancée. He lives in a suburban community and was referred to a counselor, via his employer, for what was described as “on the job intoxication.” The client says that his employer is concerned about his drug use because he failed a drug test after an accident at work. Rob was suspended for one month, pending the outcome of his referral to counseling. Rob tells you that he smokes marijuana, only a few times a week. Additionally, he asserts that he is using cannabis for medicinal reasons, specifically to help with insomnia. Rob reports he does not go to work intoxicated and only smokes marijuana at night to help him sleep. Rob is worried about explaining why he may lose his job to his family. He does not see a problem with his use of marijuana and also states he likes his job, but feels like his boss is just trying to control him. Rob believes that he should be able to use marijuana since it ” . . . has never hurt anyone” and is a medicine. Rob says he is willing to participate in counseling “. . . if he has to and it helps him keep his job.” The employer has given the client four weeks to start” (p. 76).

• What are some of your observations about the case of Rob?
• Are their cultural considerations to attend to?
• How might Rob feel about counseling?
• What steps could you take to get a clearer picture of Rob’s case?