ODL 424: Keys to Effective Group Counseling: Cultural and Ethical Competencies

Created On:  9/10/26                 

Target Audience:

This course is targeted for social workers, psychologists, and counselors.

Instructional Level:

Intermediate

Counselor Skills Groups:

4. Counseling Services

Overview:

Becoming an effective group counselor or psychotherapist demands a wide range of skills. In this intermediate training, we will explore two central aspects of good group facilitation: cultural and ethical competencies. Cultural competencies, as displayed through cultural humility, cultural comfort, and the ability to capitalize on cultural opportunities, are central for effective practice with a range of people. The skill to work effectively across a range of cultural identities is even more important in group work, in which members with different identities interact with each other. Ethical competencies are also central to effective practice. 

Group work introduces unique ethical issues and challenges. In this training, which provides three  additional didactic hours toward certification as a group psychotherapist, participants will explore the key elements of cultural and ethical competencies.

Course Objectives:

By the end of the session, the participant will be able to:

• Describe the core attributes of the Multicultural Orientation—cultural humility, culture comfort, and cultural opportunities—and how those apply to group counseling.
• Identify three foundations of culturally competent group work, including setting the norm, processing microaggressions, and protecting vulnerable group members.
• Apply ethical principles to unique group counseling situations that involve balancing the needs of individual members with the group, such as confidentiality, scapegoating, and dual roles.

Presenter:

Nathaniel G. Wade, PhD, Iowa State University, Boston College, Gather Psychotherapy and Consulting

Following his undergrad graduation, Dr. Wade worked for 4 years as an Addictions Counselor in both an abstinence-based agency and a methadone clinic. He then went to graduate school for Counseling Psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University. He finished his PhD in 2003 and joined the Iowa State faculty where he was a Professor and Associate Chair of Psychology and Founding Director of Network Community Counseling Services. After 23 years at Iowa State, Dr. Wade made the move back east to be closer family. He now operates a private practice with his wife, Gather Psychotherapy and Consulting, and teaches at Boston College.

He is a licensed Psychologist in Iowa and Massachusetts and a Certified Group Psychotherapist. Nathaniel’s research interests center on the processes and outcomes of psychotherapy. Specifically, he has worked to develop and test interventions to promote forgiveness, to understand the impact of integrating religion and spirituality into psychotherapy, and to reduce the stigma associated with seeking counseling. His most recent interest is integrating exercise into psychotherapy. He has published three edited books, over 100 scholarly articles and chapters, and has received over 7 million in grant funding. He is an APA fellow of two divisions: Group Psychology and Psychotherapy and the Society of Counseling Psychology.

When not working, he enjoys spending time with family, hiking in the mountains of New England, and playing soccer each week with the “over the hill” crowd.