VISION: A Model of Culture for Counselors

Abstract

Current and popular views of multiculturalism emphasize between‐group differences attributable to race and ethnicity with little appreciation of within‐group differences, the individuality of each person's phenomenal field, or an individual's capacity to participate in different groups. VISION is a model of culture that accounts for within‐group and between‐group differences, the disappearance of groups, and the emergence of new ones. VISION has program applications pertinent to counselor education in the areas of mental health counseling and in modeling the multicultural training of counselors. A paradigmatic shift from a group level of abstraction to the individual is commonly contemplated among cultural anthropologists, but the need for this shift is illustrated in a counseling context.

The Psychology of Worldviews

“…An important aspect of each person with whom one has contact is that person's worldview (see Figure 5). When people of a similar worldview also share similar history and language, we call the resulting collectivity a culture (Baber, Garrett, & Holcomb-McCoy, 1997;Beutler & Bergan, 1991;Okazaki & Sue, 1995). Thus, it is implicit in the theory that an individual's worldview is shaped, probably to a very large extent (though not exclusively), by the cultures that the individual encounters (Artinian & McCown, 1997).…”

Multicultural SuperVISION: A Paradigm of Cultural Responsiveness for Supervisors

“…Part of the goal for the supervisor is to be aware of the components of his or her culture and how this affects the supervisee and the process of supervision. The VISION model of culture (Baber, Garrett, & Holcomb-McCoy, 1997), coming out of the literature in both counseling and anthropology, is based on a definition of culture that consists of "standards for deciding what is, standards for deciding what can be, standards for deciding how one feels about it, standards for deciding what to do about it, and standards for deciding how to go about doing it" (Goodenough, 1981, p. 62). In supervision, VISION is useful for relating the ongoing interactional process of culture in the way that supervisor and supervisee V-structure their phenomenal world in terms of Values and belief systems I-respond to the internal and external stimuli of their phenomenal world by Interpreting their experiences and ascribing meanings %Structure their phenomenal world according to personallcultural meanings and preferences that provide appropriate avenues for goal-directed behaviors and expectations I-engage in interactive learning and self-expression through an Interactional style of verbal and nonverbal communication in social groups and the surrounding environment that requires a continuous process of adaptation O-develop Operational strategies and procedures for accomplishing their expectations and goals N-develop a particular perspective in seeking to fulfill perceived physical, mental, spiritual (emotional), and environmental Needs…”

The Moment is Frozen in Time: Photojournalists’ Metaphors in Describing Trauma Photography

“…According to Baber, Garrett, and Holcomb-McCoy (1997), culture usually is seen as a set of shared symbols (e.g., awards) and meanings (e.g., work ethic) operating in a specific group over a period of time. These symbols and meanings are resources group members use to guide, structure, and orient themselves in a changing world as they interact within their group and with those from other groups.…”