Multicultural orientation refers to one’s “way of being” with clients, largely informed by the degree of salience attached to identity markers such as race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, age, gender identity and expression, sexual and affectual orientation, religion/spirituality, and ability. Multicultural orientation includes three central elements- cultural humility, cultural opportunities, and cultural comfort. Cultural humility is an ongoing process of self-reflection and an awareness of one’s identity as a socially embedded cultural being. It also involves an openness and willingness to understand the cultural framework of clients. Cultural opportunities refer to cultural moments that occur during play therapy, creating an opening for cultural content. Cultural comfort represents feelings that emerge before, during and after cultural moments and the level of ease experienced while engaged in cultural exchanges. Cultural humility, cultural opportunities and cultural comfort can have a profound impact on the play therapist: client relationship and therapeutic progress. Culturally inclusive play therapy practice attends to the dimensions of the multicultural orientation of the play therapist, incorporates culturally attuned interventions, acknowledges cultural identities of both the client and the play therapist, and facilitates play therapy skill development. In this workshop, participants will learn how to identify cultural moments in play therapy practice, engage in healthy cultural exchanges, explore their dimensions of diversity, identify strategies for developing cultural humility and cultural comfort, and examine the impact of multicultural orientation on clinical practice and the play therapy process.
Primary Area: Play Therapy Cultural an Social Diversity Topics
Play Therapy Competencies Addressed: Knowledge & Understanding of Play Therapy
Theoretical Basis: Other
