MLR20281: Power, Culture, and Identity in Counseling Psychology, Part 1

The course will explore different aspects of identity and culture including ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation, SES, age, religion, spirituality, ability, size, and more, with an awareness of intersectionality and how aspects of identity impact and influence each other. We will examine equity, power, privilege, and oppression as they relate to identity and the therapeutic space and how systems, institutional structures, and socio-political historical factors have influence on unconscious bias and internalized beliefs. Students will have many opportunities to explore identities, individual experiences, and how they impact beliefs and norms and influence clinician interactions to help cultivate shared, safer spaces within the power dynamic of therapy. This course also aims to inspire students to seek out further knowledge of various identities and expand their personal view of the world while acknowledging their own cultural lens. Students will better understand how to assume a stance of cultural humility as part of ethical development in becoming a clinician.