Week 1 Flashcards
(20 cards)
Q1: Which of the following best defines “cultural safety” in psychological practice?
a) Avoiding culturally sensitive topics during assessment
b) Ensuring clients are educated about Western mental health practices
c) Creating a therapeutic space where clients feel respected, valued, and free from harm
d) Matching clients with therapists from the same ethnic background
Correct Answer: c) Creating a therapeutic space where clients feel respected, valued, and free from harm
Rationale: Cultural safety is about more than awareness — it involves actively creating conditions where clients feel secure in expressing their identities.
Source: [Lecture Part 3 – 00:08:12]
Q2: According to Moodley & Lee (2020), what is a key critique of the Western mental health model in cross-cultural contexts?
a) It includes too many indigenous voices
b) It prioritizes the emotional over the biological
c) It assumes universality of Western psychological constructs
d) It focuses too heavily on structural explanations of distress
Correct Answer: c) It assumes universality of Western psychological constructs
Rationale: Moodley & Lee argue Western models often fail to account for culturally specific understandings of mental illness.
Source: [Reading – ‘Configurations of Race and Culture in Mental Health’, p. 5]
Q3: Which of the following most accurately describes intersectionality?
a) Understanding mental health through the lens of cognitive models
b) Recognizing how race and culture affect treatment preference
c) Analyzing how overlapping identities shape lived experience and oppression
d) Focusing on ethnic matching in therapy
Correct Answer: c) Analyzing how overlapping identities shape lived experience and oppression
Rationale: Intersectionality highlights how multiple systems of oppression interact, affecting access and treatment in complex ways.
Source: [Lecture Part 3 – 00:11:22]
Q4: What is one implication of a therapist failing to reflect on their own cultural privilege?
a) They may become too focused on the client’s trauma
b) They risk overpathologizing the client’s distress
c) They will automatically violate the APS Code of Ethics
d) They will lose professional registration
Correct Answer: b) They risk overpathologizing the client’s distress
Rationale: Unexamined therapist bias can lead to misinterpreting cultural expressions as pathological.
Source: [Tutorial – 00:17:33]
Q5: A therapist fails to ask about a client’s cultural background and assumes they share the same worldview. Which APS principle is most at risk?
a) Integrity
b) Propriety
c) Respect
d) Advocacy
Correct Answer: c) Respect
Rationale: Respect includes acknowledging individual and cultural differences as core to ethical engagement.
Source: [Tutorial – 00:10:18]
Q6: What is the primary limitation of a purely “access-based” model of cultural inclusion?
a) It ignores financial cost
b) It assumes that cultural representation equals safety
c) It favors therapists over clients
d) It avoids cultural training requirements
Correct Answer: b) It assumes that cultural representation equals safety
Rationale: True inclusion requires safety, not just physical presence — access alone is insufficient.
Source: [Lecture Part 3 – 00:14:40]
Q7: What is the ethical risk of assuming cultural homogeneity within a client group?
a) It avoids systemic racism
b) It promotes collectivist values
c) It erases individual cultural identity and context
d) It supports trauma-informed care
Correct Answer: c) It erases individual cultural identity and context
Rationale: Treating clients as monolithic invalidates their unique worldviews and risks harm.
Source: [Reading – ‘Culture and Globalisation of Mental Health’, p. 9]
Q8: Why is it ethically important to discuss boundaries and expectations at the beginning of therapy?
a) It protects the therapist from complaints
b) It avoids being sued by the client
c) It builds trust, clarifies roles, and reduces confusion
d) It aligns with mandatory reporting laws
Correct Answer: c) It builds trust, clarifies roles, and reduces confusion
Rationale: This conversation fosters informed consent and client safety.
Source: [Week 1 Learning Activity]
Q9: In Moodley & Lee’s critique, what role does colonialism play in global mental health systems?
a) It created access to previously unavailable care
b) It emphasized community-led care systems
c) It embedded Western dominance in diagnosis and treatment models
d) It improved scientific validity across cultural groups
Correct Answer: c) It embedded Western dominance in diagnosis and treatment models
Rationale: Colonial legacies prioritize Western views while marginalizing indigenous practices.
Source: [Reading – ‘Culture and Globalisation of Mental Health’, p. 3]
Q10: What is a key ethical practice when working with clients from diverse cultural backgrounds?
a) Relying on DSM-5 criteria alone
b) Asking them to adapt to Western frameworks
c) Adopting a non-defensive stance and active cultural inquiry
d) Avoiding mention of cultural identity unless the client raises it
Correct Answer: c) Adopting a non-defensive stance and active cultural inquiry
Rationale: Ethical cultural engagement requires openness, reflection, and humility.
Source: [Tutorial – 00:22:02]
Q11: A psychologist assumes their client’s resistance to discussing emotions is a sign of avoidance, without considering cultural norms around emotional expression. This is an example of:
a) Overpathologising based on a Western norm
b) Cultural relativism
c) Unconditional positive regard
d) Appropriate clinical inference
Correct Answer: a) Overpathologising based on a Western norm
Rationale: The psychologist interprets behavior through a Western lens, without considering culturally appropriate expressions.
Source: [Lecture Part 3 – 00:17:02]
Q12: A client from a collectivist background expresses distress over prioritizing their own needs in therapy. What is the most ethical and culturally sensitive response by the psychologist?
a) Reframe this as a failure in self-care
b) Encourage them to ignore family expectations
c) Validate their cultural framework and explore values-based goals
d) Explain that therapy requires personal autonomy
Correct Answer: c) Validate their cultural framework and explore values-based goals
Rationale: Ethical and culturally responsive practice involves working within the client’s worldview, not imposing Western individualism.
Source: [Tutorial – 00:23:14]
Q13: The Routledge reading suggests that global mental health practices often marginalize non-Western frameworks. What is a core cause of this?
a) Global scarcity of psychological research
b) Emphasis on collectivism
c) Epistemic dominance of Western science
d) Lack of cross-cultural clinicians
Correct Answer: c) Epistemic dominance of Western science
Rationale: “Epistemic dominance” refers to privileging Western ways of knowing while excluding others.
Source: [Reading – ‘Configurations of Race and Culture in Mental Health’, p. 6]
Q14: A student argues that offering translated CBT manuals is sufficient to ensure cultural safety. Which response best aligns with Week 1 principles?
a) Correct, as it removes the language barrier
b) Incorrect, as translation doesn’t address deeper cultural mismatch
c) Depends on the client’s literacy level
d) Only if the manual is approved by a cultural liaison
Correct Answer: b) Incorrect, as translation doesn’t address deeper cultural mismatch
Rationale: Cultural safety involves worldview, context, and relational factors — not just language access.
Source: [Lecture Part 3 – 00:19:11]
Q15: Which of the following best reflects an intersectional perspective in mental health?
a) Treating race and gender as separate risk factors
b) Focusing only on cultural identity
c) Understanding how multiple systems of oppression shape mental health experiences
d) Avoiding discussion of power to remain neutral
Correct Answer: c) Understanding how multiple systems of oppression shape mental health experiences
Rationale: Intersectionality considers how various identity factors interact in systemic ways.
Source: [Reading – p. 8]
Q16: During a first session, a client expresses concern that the psychologist is from a different cultural background. What is the most ethical and professionally appropriate first step?
a) Explain that all psychologists are trained to treat everyone equally
b) Acknowledge the concern and invite discussion about cultural needs and expectations
c) Emphasize that therapy is universal and culture-neutral
d) Suggest referral to a same-background clinician immediately
Correct Answer: b) Acknowledge the concern and invite discussion about cultural needs and expectations
Rationale: Respectful, client-centered practice begins with openness, not defensiveness or assumptions.
Source: [Tutorial – 00:26:01]
Q17: Which of the following is NOT a principle of cultural humility?
a) Lifelong learning and self-reflection
b) Recognizing and addressing power imbalances
c) Practicing cultural competence once training is complete
d) Institutional accountability
Correct Answer: c) Practicing cultural competence once training is complete
Rationale: Cultural humility views competence as a lifelong process — not a finished goal.
Source: [Lecture Part 3 – 00:20:50]
Q18: The Routledge chapter describes ‘cultural imperialism’ in global mental health. What does this term refer to?
a) Advocating for more culturally diverse psychologists
b) Imposing Western models of mental health onto non-Western populations
c) Using psychometric tools across cultures
d) Offering global mental health funding
Correct Answer: b) Imposing Western models of mental health onto non-Western populations
Rationale: Cultural imperialism critiques the export of Western mental health norms as universal truths.
Source: [Reading – ‘Globalisation and Mental Health’, p. 4]
Q19: A new clinician wants to ‘avoid thinking about race or power’ in sessions to treat all clients the same. What is the ethical risk of this stance?
a) It reduces transference
b) It promotes self-efficacy
c) It erases cultural experience and perpetuates systemic bias
d) It complies with neutrality in the APS Code
Correct Answer: c) It erases cultural experience and perpetuates systemic bias
Rationale: Colorblind approaches are unethical because they deny lived realities and reinforce inequity.
Source: [Tutorial – 00:14:50]
Q20: Which of the following best reflects the Week 1 critique of cultural inclusion efforts in mainstream practice?
a) They are inherently effective if client attendance improves
b) They are adequate as long as translation services are provided
c) They often fail to address systemic barriers and power imbalances
d) They succeed by diversifying diagnostic tools
Correct Answer: c) They often fail to address systemic barriers and power imbalances
Rationale: Week 1 content emphasized that access alone is not enough — true inclusion requires structural awareness.
Source: [Lecture Part 3 – 00:12:33]
