ADC504: Multicultural Counseling

Instructor & Contact Information

The People tab in Canvas provides information on the course instructor and you can  send a message to your instructor following these instructions. Faculty are expected to: 1) grade and return assignments, with feedback, within 7 days from the date of submission; 2) reply to your Canvas messages within 72 hours; 3) reply several times each week in total in the discussion forums (not to each individual student); and 4) demonstrate the core values of City Vision University.

Course Description

This course explores the role of culture and diversity in the counseling process. Students will learn about the various cultural, social, and political factors that influence the mental health of individuals from different backgrounds. The course will cover topics such as cultural identity, acculturation, privilege, and oppression, and how these factors impact the counseling relationship. Students will also examine the ways in which culture influences help-seeking behaviors, communication styles, and coping strategies. Through readings, case studies, and experiential learning activities, students will develop practical skills for providing culturally responsive counseling services, such as conducting culturally sensitive assessments, adapting interventions to meet the needs of diverse clients, and working collaboratively with clients from different backgrounds. Overall, this course aims to prepare students to become culturally competent counselors, capable of working effectively with clients from a variety of cultural backgrounds. This course will place a particular emphasis on serving clients in urban and at-risk communities. This course will provide tools for developing cultural competence particularly needed in addiction counseling. This course will also help students to frame multicultural counseling within a Christian worldview to use in appropriate contexts.

Course Outcomes

After completing this course, you should be able to:

1. Identify the counseling competencies needed to serve multicultural clients.
2. Reflect on your own cultural identity development to identify personal growth strategies for multicultural counseling competence.
3. Reflect on how unconscious bias can influence the counseling process.
4. Analyze the relationship between systemic injustice, trauma and rates of addiction between groups.
5. Practice using the DSM Cultural Formation Interview in mock counseling sessions.
6. Evaluate the intersection of ethical issues and multicultural considerations Christian counselors in both secular and Christian contexts.
7. Apply multicultural counseling competencies to case studies of diverse clients across race/ethnicity, gender, social class and other factors.

Degree Program Outcomes

Degree outcomes are the overall skills and knowledge we expect you will have after successfully completing a degree program at City Vision University. After completing the degree, you will be able to do the following in each of the listed domains:

1. Addiction Counseling. Develop plans and function in the eight practice domains of addiction counseling including: 1) Clinical Evaluation, 2) Treatment Planning, 3) Referral, 4) Case Management, 5) Counseling, 6) Client Education, 7) Documentation and 8) Ethics including transdisciplinary foundations.
2. * Christian Counseling. Integrate the theory and practice of addiction counseling into a Christian worldview to effectively serve and apply professional ethics in secular counseling and Christian counseling environments.
3. Co-occuring Disorders. Provide counseling, treatment plans and referrals to those with substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health disorders.
4. Addiction Psychopharmacology. Develop effective addiction treatment based on knowedge of a range of psychoactive drugs and be able to educate clients and provide referrals needed to provide comprehensive treatment.
5. Family Counseling. Provide counseling to families affected by addiction and assist them in moving toward healthy family dynamics.
6. Trauma & Crisis Counseling. Provide effective counseling to those experiencing crisis or having a history of trauma.
7. * Multicultural Counseling. Utilize effective methods to counsel diverse clients in both Christian and secular counseling environments

   Concentration Outcomes

8. Group Counseling. Facilitate group counseling sessions based on an understanding of group dynamics in addiction treatment.
9. Counseling Theory. Synthesize counseling theories to develop treatment plans for those with substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health disorders.
10. Counseling Skills & Techniques. Apply counseling theories and techniques in addiction counseling including motivational interviewing, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and 12-step group facilitation.
11. Clinical Evaluation. Conduct thorough assessments and diagnoses of substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health disorders using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).
12. Professional Ethics. Apply the ethical and professional principles, standards, and expectations that are integral to a professional counselor’s role and identity.
13. Behavioral Addiction. Provide counseling to those dealing with behavioral addictions as well as conducting self-assessment to maintain balance avoiding and personally avoiding behavioral addictions.
14. Culminating Experience. Demonstrate mastery either of the practice of addiction counseling through a practicum or comprehensive knowledge through preparation for an addiction counseling certification exam.

The concentration outcomes students will fulfill vary based on their concentration, except for the Culminating Experience.

Required Texts

Students are required to purchase these texts before the first day of classes. 

• Hays, D. G., & Erford, B. T. (2018). Developing multicultural counseling competence: A systems approach (4th ed.). Pearson. ISBN: 978-0137474196.
• Ellison, C., & Maynard, E. S. (2002). Healing for the City: Counseling in the Urban Setting. Wipf & Stock Publishers. ISBN: 978-1-57910-979-0.
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2015). TIP 59: Improving Cultural Competence . HHS Publication No. SMA15-4849. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  Free PDF.

Guidelines for Written Work

All written work must follow our Writing Format and Forum Requirements. You must read these to understand how to cite sources appropriately.

Critical Policies to Read for This Course

Note: These policies are critical for all students to read. In case of change, we have linked to the versions on our website to make sure you have the latest version.

• Grading Scale 

• Deadlines to Drop Courses

• Attendance, Late Policy and Extensions

• Technology Requirements for Courses

• Standards of Academic Integrity & Plagiarism Policy

• What plagiarism is and how to avoid it 

• Credit Hour Policy, Grading Policy and Other Academic Policies

NOTE: Because students will only complete 3 out of 5 of the week 8 quizzes, the Syllabus point total shows 103%, but the actual total will be 100%.

• ADA Policy, Learning Accommodations & Disabilities Services
• Student Code of Conduct 

• Library Services

Additional Policies:

• Privacy Policy

• Consumer Disclosures
• Additional policies are listed in our catalog

This syllabus is subject to change without notice up until the first day of the semester. Last updated: October 19, 2024