Counseling a Client from Another Culture

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Recommended: Cultural competence in counseling

America is the greatest melting pot. Everywhere you look we are surrounded by rich and diverse cultures. Immigrants arriving in this country today are struggling to assimilate and still maintain their own individual identity. For instance, Elizabeth, my mother, was born in Italy and came to the United States when she was 11 years of age. When it was time for my mom to start school, the guidance office recommended to her foster parents remove any clothing, jewelry, or personal items that were not congruent with the American culture at that time. As I reflect on my mom’s experience, it must have been such a difficult transition not allowed to maintain her own culture identity.

Counseling a client from another culture, I believe it is the most beneficial experience in the world. My own personal theory on achieving the title of a culturally skilled counselor is to be sensitive to cultural differences of the client, while providing assistance blending into the American culture, and maintaining their own cultural identity. Counselors will require training and personal development to turn into a culturally skilled counselor. The program that I have proposed is two step processes which incorporate different components. The first step is counselor awareness and the other is client awareness.

Counselor awareness is a three step, self awareness discovery where a counselor works on establishing cultural identity, knowledge of race, and training. I call it discovery because researching a family history is a bit like being in a game of Clue. However, to make the process more simplified, begin questioning parents or grandparents about the culture. In 1991, the Association for Multicultural Awareness and Development (AMCD) i...

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... reasoning is that as a counselor we are trained in the art of measuring someone’s ability. However, the exception to the rule is when it comes to a child that is experiencing severe speech problems. Administrating a Diagnostic Evaluation of Phonology (ADEP) could help in assisting with their areas of weakness.

In conclusion, working with multicultural clients can be challenging and rewarding. From this essay, I’ve established that prior to a counselor entering the field to counsel multicultural clients. It’s imperative to apply the two rules that have been discussed in this essay.

References

Association for Multicultural Counseling Development. 1991. (AMCC). Journal for the Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development. April 1991.

From: http://www.counseling.org/Resources/Competencies/Cross-Cultural_Competencies_and_Objectives.pdf

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