Brother Larry Hample

A therapist will face problems, issues and client troubles everyday. The professional must understand how their client relates to the world around them. These feelings and ideas affect how the client sees the problem and how they respond to their situation. Their actions, in turn, have bearing on individual thoughts, needs, and emotions. The therapist must be aware of the client's history, values, and culture in order to provide effective therapy. This paper will outline and provide information as to the importance of cultural competence and diversity in family therapy.

In my personal opinion and experience, I find that the field of psychology is lacking in diverse cultural competencies as much as the society is diverse in its population. I believe that as with using any theoretical model, the therapists’ cultural knowledge needs to include understanding of the many cultural considerations influencing the effectiveness of treatment when dealing with clients from diverse backgrounds. When servicing the individuals in the family, care and attention needs to be directed towards family and community norms and values around help seeking, secrecy and confidentiality, family roles, child rearing and spiritual practices.

Below, I will discuss the results of a multicultural self-assessment that I took. I will describe a time in which I felt “other”. I will then proceed to explain my personal feelings regarding each. I will discuss a course of action I plan to take as a result of the multicultural assessment. I will develop a counseling identity statement. Finally, I will explain why multicultural awareness and cultural competency are important in the field of counseling.

Each client is influenced by race, ethnicity, national origin, life stage, educational level, social class, and sex roles (Ibrahim, 1985). The counsellor must view the identity and development of culturally diverse people in terms of multiple interactive factors rather than a strictly cultural framework (Romero, 1985).

Cultural competency is critical in psychology practice. In the United States, the groups, which considered as cultural and ethnic minorities, are growing in the population (APA, 2003). Culture often influences the content and quality of people’s experience, perception, and response. Thus, it is important for psychologists to be aware of cultural influences on client’s presenting experience(s) (Gardiner & Kosmitzki, 2010). Without a regard for cultural influence, there is a significant risk for the psychologist to misunderstand, misinterpret, and misguide his or her client. Such misunderstanding, misinterpretation, and misguidance are not only unhelpful but can be detrimental for the client (Corey, Corey, & Callanan, 2011; Pope, & Vasquez, 2011).

The experiences that I shared with those students presented me with great satisfaction. This influenced my decision to apply for a graduate degree in school counseling. Although, at this point in time I do not hold any experiences in school counseling I have researched ways to gain that experience. Volunteering at both public schools to shadow licensed school counselors and independent counseling centers will provide me the necessary experiences to gain hands on knowledge for the field. The ability to relate interpersonally to individuals from different cultural backgrounds is extremely important for a counselor. Being knowledgeable of a client’s culture, identity, ethnicity, race and gender play a major part in the counseling process. Possessing cultural competent is key to engaging a diverse clientele. Culture norms and rules change the way an individual interact. I understand the importance of identifying the barriers and bias in interacting with individual from different cultures. Through my previous years of education and current work experiences I obtained valuable interpersonal skills. These skills assist with communicating effectively with a diverse group of individuals. Those skills involved effective listening, problem-solving, decision-making, assertiveness, and verbal and non-verbal communication. In detail, while working as teacher, I was afforded the opportunity of advising interns on making practical

Consequently, as professional school counselors competency in multicultural counseling is essential to the work that has to be done in schools, in this day and age, with the climate that the country is in, professional school counselors have to serve as the missing piece to bring students, educators and the community together. Professional school counselors’ foremost need to look at their own cultural and their comfort level with other cultures. Compentency in multicultural begins with analyzing ones own

There are three core goals leading a counselor to become culturally competent, which include awareness of personal biases, understanding and acknowledging the worldviews of individuals from all cultures, and developing appropriate techniques and interventions by using specific skills and strategies. Becoming aware of ones own biases is essential for changing ones perspective. Being aware of Ones of biases allows the individual to rewire their thinking patterns and unattached previous assumptions. A cultural competent counselor will actively understand the worldviews of all individuals from different cultures. Research is a key fundamental when educating ones self about culture. A culturally competent counselor will accept clients for who they are and perceive them without judgment. Cultural competent counselors will create innovative techniques and interventions depending upon the client’s culture. Counselors must function with clients as a team to optimize growth and development of the client. Together, the counselor and the client can find new strategies and interventions that work effectively. Becoming culturally competent is an important goal for counselors and throughout the profession counselors will strive to achieve

“The multicultural training movement has indeed contributed to a greater and much needed understanding of the differences among various racial, ethnic, and cultural groups (Speight, Myers, Cox and Highlen, 1991).” In looking at this statement counselors will need to expand their thinking outside of the Western European contexts. There is a difference between Western culture and other cultures. Sue & Sue, 2012 states “ each cultural/racial group may have its own distinct interpretation of reality and offer a different perspective on the nature of people, the origin of disorders, standards for judging normality and abnormality, and therapeutic approaches. (p. 45).” As we are brought together with more cultures it is imperative to understand the differences, which will enable counselors to become culturally competent.

The article helped me to understand that multicultural counseling plays a major part in the understanding of the client. Understanding my own biases regarding multiculturalism based upon my own racial group and identity will fundamentally impact my counseling approach. My Way of Being with the client in the counseling session will be directly affect by my ability to understand his or her cultural differences.

Zunker informs us that Sue, Ivey and Pederson recognized that a theory for multicultural counseling was necessary; the premise of this theory is that learning occurs within a cultural context, that cultural identity changes and that culture is both inclusive and broad (Sue, Ivey & Pederson 1996; Zunker, 2006).The sociopolitical

Multicultural group counseling takes place when a counselor and/or clients are from differing cultural, race, and/or ethnicity groups. Due to the significant demographic changes that are occurring in the United States, multiculturalism is becoming increasingly important. When acting as a multicultural group counselor, it is important to modify techniques to reflect the cultural differences of the client, be prepared to deal with difficulties during the counseling process, and understand the way culturally diverse people conceptualize their problems as well how they resolve them (Gladding, 2012). In order to be an effective multicultural counselor, it is important that one is aware of their cultural heritage, understands how their cultural background affects their attitudes, values, and beliefs, recognizes the limitations of their multicultural expertise and/or competency, and identify the root of their discomfort with different clients (Gladding, 2012). One can implement these through three key aspects Gladding (2012) outlined in his book and effective leadership skills.

In a multicultural counseling perspective there are four key approaches when counseling individuals, (a) multicultural awareness of culturally learned assumptions about self and others leading to accurate assessments of clients, (b) multicultural knowledge of information, (c) multicultural skills and interventions, that are appropriate treating clients, and (d) individuals are from a variety of backgrounds, demographic status, and affiliation of cultures. The three-stage approach, will direct the counselor towards levels of multicultural competence in therapy by providing a successful outcome in the recovery process. When conducting a psychotherapy session with a client the counselor should be able to demonstrate skills, when exploring the client’s cultural background. Counselors should also be able to focus on the essential skills and pattern behaviors, when identifying cultural differences. Counseling a minority from a different culture counselors’ must be able to identify their own personal behaviors. These behaviors are crucial when counseling these individuals. First, a counselor must be able to sense the clients’ viewpoint or issue in some way. Secondly, a counselor should be specific when asking a question rather than being unclear and confusing.

Counselors who are unaware of diverse cultural viewpoints are more than likely to do intentional or unintentional damage when working within communities opposite of their own and with those whose cultures and worldviews differ from theirs. If a counselor is unaware of their own cultural identity, biases, and stereotypes, how then will they know if they are unintentionally causing harm to their clients or build rapport? Cultural self-awareness is relevant because counselors need to know their cultural identity and what they must offer their clients in a therapeutic relationship and to help clients become aware their cultural identities.

With the diversifying population in America’s schools, a profession school counselor should be culturally competent to meet the needs of all students. “The transformed professional school counselor is culturally competent, respectful of human diversity, and a school leader in ensuring that oppressive systemic barriers to academic, career, college readiness, and personal/social development are removed (Erford, 2015, p. 173).” A school counselor needs to have a deep understanding of a variety of cultures to meet the personal, emotional, developmental needs of a student using individual and group interventions while being aware of their cultural and spiritual needs.