Overview

Students learn most effectively utilizing different mediums of instruction: textbooks, written tests, research papers, multimedia formats and now, ethnodrama! Students can simply read, Here I Am, or better yet, put it on as a class play. Discussion questions are included for ease of professor measurement. Here I Am is a screenplay derived from quotes from ten actual master's students in counseling programs, who self-identified as minorities. Rather than providing sensitivity training to students solely by classroom instruction, the play puts a realistic face on the everyday experiences of minorities. Here I Am is perfect for use as a teaching tool in Diversity or Multicultural Counseling classes, as a supplement for practicum or internship labs, or for doctoral and seasoned counselor educators.

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9780692679234

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Reviews

In Here I Am LaMantia brings readers into contact with the complexity of cultural and social identity, and the spectrum along which people can be marginalized. The chosen narratives challenge our assumptions about what it is to identify as a minority, illustrated through the decision to allow participants to self-identify, rather than relying on socially constructed categories. LaMantia demonstrates her understanding of the sacredness of the individual experience with adversity by allowing participants to speak for themselves. The words stand alone without analysis, allowing the reader to simply enter into each character's story and consider what it may be like to navigate the world from that particular context. This play serves as an effective tool for multicultural counseling courses, through inviting individual reflection, as well as group experiencing and process. - Anna Elliott, PhD, Montana State University An excellent play! The uniqueness of this play lies in the portrayal of a microcosm of diverse characters in a backdrop of a professional counseling degree program. Each character's story depicts the eventual reality and impact of their differentness on others and on themselves. This will be a wonderful resource for training programs as it reflects what it means to be a minority in our larger society. -Hemla Singaravelu, PhD, Webster University Here I Am provided insight to me, as a current Master's student, about different minorities, and their experiences becoming who they want to be in a world where who they want to be may not be fully accepted yet. Not only was I blown away by each individual, but their genuineness to open their hearts about something that they are still working on or something that is still scary to understand is admirable in every sense of the word. We are always told that it's okay to be different. But sometimes, the reality may be that we do not feel okay being so different. Here I Am gives strength to the idea of accepting one's own different ; and not only learning from it, but understanding it enough to love it unconditionally. -Ayesha Kadri, Mental Health Counseling Masters Student

Author Information

Kirsten LaMantia, Ph.D., LPC, NCC, is an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Counseling at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, MO. She graduated with a BFA in Acting from the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University in Chicago, IL, an MA in Community Counseling from Saint Xavier University in Chicago, IL, and a Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Counseling from Idaho State University in Pocatello, ID. Her counseling expertise includes individual and group counseling for victims and child witnesses of domestic violence. She has presented nationally and internationally on topics such as feminist theory, LGBTQ+ populations, and multicultural competence within counselor education and counseling.

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