Promoting Culturally Competent Practice through the use of the Culturagram
Social workers frequently work with families from many different cultures. Much literature has focused on understanding cultural differences between families (Devore and Schlesinger,1999; Lum,1999; McGoldrick,1996). Furthermore, national and international professional organizations have stressed the importance of culturally competent practice (International Association of Schools of Social Work, 2002; International Federation of Social Workers,2003; National Association of Social Workers,1999; Council on Social Work Education, 2003). Achieving culturally competent practice,however, remains a challenge. In an attempt to be culturally competent,social workers sometimes make generalizations about families from similar cultural backgrounds. Yet even families from the same background may be very different. For example, in the United States, the cultural background of a recently arrived undocumented Mexican family differs greatly from that of a Puerto Rican family who has lived in the United States for many years. Since neither the ecomap (Hartman and Laird,1983) or the genogram (McGoldrick 1999) looks specifically at a family’s culture, the culturagram (Congress,1994,2000) was developed to help social workers individualize, understand and empower culturally diverse families. This family assessment tool has been used in work with children(Webb, 2003), older people(Brownell,1997) and victims of domestic violence (Brownell and Congress,1998). The culturagram focuses on ten aspects of culture,including reasons for relocating, legal status, time in community, language spoken at home and in the community, health beliefs, impact of crisis events, holidays and special events, contact with cultural and religious institutions, values about education and work, and values about family. By completing the culturagram, the social worker is able to engage the family in a non threatening, non judgmental way. The social worker develops a better understanding of the family’s needs and can begin to plan for appropriate interventions on an individual, family, and community basis. The use of the culturagram helps empower families by leading to a greater appreciation and celebration of their unique cultural backgrounds.