COU 520 Final Project I Guidelines and Rubric
OverviewThe final project for this course consists of two parts: a multicultural case analysis and a self-reflection. The purpose of this course is to provide you with a foundation for work as a culturally competent counselor. Counseling practice, by its nature, requires each practicing professional to recognize the central influence that intersecting identities play not only in the lives of their clients but in their own lives as well. Learning cultural competence as a way to participate in counseling relationships takes place in two ways: exposure to a variety of cultural narratives, and self-reflection.In this project, you will create a multicultural case analysis through the observation of one of the two client scenarios provided below. By learning to witness the “other” in each client narrative, you will conceptualize and begin to practice strategies for counseling and advocacy with clients who experience institutional barriers to equality, justice, and wellness. This project will continue to shape your professional identity as a counselor and how you work with clients.Client scenario options:
Butch’s Story
NOTE: Please be aware that this case study captures an individuals’ life experiences and includes an incident where he was referred to by a racial slur. Please understand that, while part of the individual’s narrative, repeating the slur is offensive, unnecessary, and is therefore prohibited in coursework or as part of the program. If you have any questions about this, please reach out to your instructor.Vu’s Story
You will practice parts of your project throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final submissions. The final product will be submitted inWeek Eight.In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes:Apply appropriate multicultural counseling concepts and competencies in a professional counseling setting for informing client case conceptualizationAnalyze a client’s otherness objectively for how it influences their behaviors, beliefs, and attitudesAnalyze institutional and social barriers for their effect on a client’s ability and willingness to access professional counseling services
PromptIn your multicultural case analysis, you will document your observations of your client and analyze their circumstances to inform your plan for conceptualizing the case.Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:Background
Establish context for your case by briefly describing the client based on the information that you are presented with the case scenario. Include
the client’s identified reason for seeking counseling.Describe observations that you made about your client’s otherness and its influence on his or her behavior.Describe observations that you made about your client’s otherness and its influence on his or her beliefs and attitudes.Describe institutional and social barriers that have played a role in your client’s ability or willingness to access professional counseling services.Analysis
Describe the steps you will take in analyzing your client’s case to ensure that you are being objective and unbiased.Explain how you will address the institutional and social barriers that have impeded your client’s access to professional counseling services.Explain the multicultural counseling competencies that you will consider while working with your client. Support your response with reference to the American Counseling Association Code of Ethics and the American Counseling Association’s Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies.Describe how you will use the multicultural competencies that you have identified to meet the needs of your client, and include why this is the most appropriate approach.Explain any considerations you will keep in mind regarding your own culture when working with your client.
Final Project I RubricGuidelines for Submission: Your multicultural case analysis should be 5–7 pages following APA formatting, double spaced, with one-inch margins, 12-point Times New Roman font, and a minimum of 5 properly cited sources.Critical ElementsExemplary (100%)Proficient (90%)Needs Improvement (70%)Not Evident (0%)ValueBackground: ContextMeets “Proficient” criteria, and description demonstrates an advanced ability to extract a thorough and accurate client description from a narrativeBriefly describes the client based on the information presented within his or her case scenario, including the client’s identified reason for seeking counselingBriefly describes the client based on the information presented within his or her case scenario, but description is verbose, contains inaccuracies, or is missing the client’s identified reason for seekingcounselingDoes not briefly describe the client based on the information presented within his or her case scenario10.24Background: BehaviorMeets “Proficient” criteria, and description makes cogent connections to the influence of otherness on behaviorDescribes observations made about the client’s otherness and its influence on his or her behaviorDescribes observations made about the client’s otherness and its influence on his or her behavior, but description is illogical or lacks cogentconnectionsDoes not describe observations made about the client’s otherness and its influence on his or her behavior11.24 |
Background: Beliefs and AttitudesMeets “Proficient” criteria, and description makes cogent connections to the influence of otherness on beliefs and attitudesDescribes observations made about the client’s otherness and its influence on his or her beliefs and attitudesDescribes observations made about the client’s otherness and its influence on his or her beliefs and attitudes, but description is illogical or lacks cogentconnectionsDoes not describe observations made about the client’s otherness and its influence on his or her beliefs and attitudes11.24Background: BarriersMeets “Proficient” criteria, and description makes cogent connections to the influence of institutional and social barriers on access toprofessional counseling servicesDescribes institutional and social barriers that have played a role in the client’sability or willingness to access professional counseling servicesDescribes institutional and social barriers that have played a role in the client’s ability or willingness to access professional counselingservices, but description is cursory or contains inaccuraciesDoes not describe institutional and social barriers that haveplayed a role in the client’s ability or willingness to access professional counseling services10.24Analysis: Objective and UnbiasedMeets “Proficient” criteria, and description demonstrates an advanced ability to objectively and unbiasedlyanalyze a client’s caseDescribes the steps taken in analyzing the client’s case to ensure objectivity and avoid biasDescribes the steps taken in analyzing the client’s case to ensure objectivity and avoid bias, but description is cursoryor illogicalDoes not describe the steps taken in analyzing the client’s case to ensure objectivity and avoid bias11.24Analysis: Institutional and Social BarriersMeets “Proficient” criteria, and explanation demonstrates an advanced ability to address institutional and social barriers that clients faceExplains how to address the institutional and social barriers that have impeded the client’s access to professional counseling servicesExplains how to address the institutional and social barriers that have impeded the client’s access to professional counseling services, but explanation is cursory, illogical,or inappropriateDoes not explain how to address the institutional and social barriers that have impeded the client’s access to professional counseling services10.84Analysis: Multicultural Counseling CompetenciesMeets “Proficient” criteria, and explanation demonstrates a sophisticated awareness of when to appropriately apply multicultural counseling competenciesExplains the multicultural counseling competencies to be considered while working with the client, supporting response with references to specific competenciesExplains the multicultural counseling competencies to be considered while working with the client, but explanation is cursory, illogical, or missingreference to specific competenciesDoes not explain the multicultural counseling competencies to be considered while working with the client10.24Analysis: Meet NeedsMeets “Proficient” criteria, and response demonstrates a sophisticated awareness of when to appropriately apply multicultural counseling conceptsDescribes how identified multicultural competencies will be used to meet the needs of the client, including why this is the most appropriate approachDescribes how identified multicultural competencies will be used to meet the needs of the client, but description is cursory or illogical, or does not include why this is the mostappropriate approachDoes not describe how identified multicultural competencies will be used to meet the needs of the client10.24 |
Analysis: Your CultureMeets “Proficient” criteria, and response demonstrates a sophisticated awareness of cultural considerations that may influence a professionalcounseling relationshipExplains any considerations to be kept in mind regarding the counselor’s own culture when working with the clientExplains any considerations to be kept in mind regarding the counselor’s own culture when working with the client, but explanation is illogical orcursoryDoes not explain any considerations to be kept in mind regarding the counselor’s own culture when working with the client10.24Articulation of ResponseSubmission is free of errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, and organization and is presented in a professional and easy-to-read formatSubmission has no major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organizationSubmission has major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that negatively impact readability and articulation ofmain ideasSubmission has critical errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that prevent understanding of ideas4.24Total100% |