<s>
A	O
culturagram	B-Application
is	O
a	O
family	O
assessment	O
tool	O
used	O
in	O
the	O
practice	O
of	O
social	O
work	O
which	O
was	O
first	O
introduced	O
by	O
Fordham	O
University	O
professor	O
,	O
Dr.	O
Elaine	O
Congress	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
culturagram	B-Application
is	O
a	O
family	O
assessment	O
tool	O
that	O
provides	O
a	O
graphical	O
representation	O
of	O
various	O
aspects	O
of	O
an	O
individual	O
and	O
family	O
's	O
culture	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
culturagram	B-Application
was	O
developed	O
to	O
help	O
in	O
understanding	O
the	O
cultural	O
background	O
of	O
culture	O
in	O
families	O
(	O
Congress	O
,	O
1994	O
,	O
1997	O
;	O
Congress	O
&	O
Kung	O
,	O
2013	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
culturagram	B-Application
represents	O
an	O
attempt	O
to	O
individualize	O
culturally	O
diverse	O
families	O
(	O
Congress	O
&	O
Kung	O
,	O
2013	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Completing	O
a	O
culturagram	B-Application
on	O
a	O
family	O
can	O
help	O
a	O
clinician	O
develop	O
a	O
better	O
understanding	O
of	O
the	O
family	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
First	O
developed	O
in	O
1994	O
and	O
then	O
revised	O
in	O
2000	O
and	O
again	O
in	O
2009	O
,	O
the	O
culturagram	B-Application
examines	O
the	O
following	O
areas	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
culturagram	B-Application
has	O
been	O
seen	O
as	O
an	O
essential	O
tool	O
in	O
helping	O
social	O
workers	O
work	O
more	O
effectively	O
with	O
families	O
from	O
many	O
different	O
cultures	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
culturagram	B-Application
can	O
be	O
useful	O
in	O
arriving	O
at	O
decisions	O
about	O
treatment	O
planning	O
and	O
intervention	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
using	O
the	O
culturagram	B-Application
the	O
practitioner	O
is	O
required	O
to	O
look	O
at	O
the	O
family	O
in	O
the	O
here	O
and	O
now	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sometimes	O
it	O
is	O
helpful	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
to	O
construct	O
the	O
culturagram	B-Application
at	O
different	O
points	O
of	O
time	O
,	O
first	O
at	O
the	O
beginning	O
of	O
intervention	O
and	O
then	O
at	O
a	O
future	O
point	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
constructing	O
the	O
culturagram	B-Application
a	O
retrospective	O
approach	O
is	O
also	O
useful	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Students	O
and	O
practitioners	O
have	O
used	O
the	O
culturagram	B-Application
in	O
their	O
professional	O
practice	O
with	O
families	O
and	O
reported	O
that	O
it	O
is	O
helpful	O
in	O
engaging	O
families	O
in	O
a	O
nonthreatening	O
way	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
culturagram	B-Application
culture	O
is	O
viewed	O
through	O
a	O
multidimensional	O
lens	O
,	O
rather	O
than	O
as	O
a	O
monolithic	O
entity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Initial	O
evaluation	O
of	O
the	O
culturagram	B-Application
has	O
been	O
positive	O
,	O
and	O
there	O
are	O
further	O
plans	O
to	O
assess	O
further	O
its	O
effectiveness	O
in	O
promoting	O
culturally	O
competent	O
practice	O
.	O
</s>
