Multicultural Counseling Theory and Multicultural Counselors

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Table of Contents

Abstract
Introduction
Pros and Cons of Multicultural Counseling Theory
Factors Influencing Multicultural Counseling
Conclusion
References

Abstract

This paper addresses the various issues associated with multicultural counseling theory. The pros and cons of multicultural counseling theory were analyzed with regards to factors that affect the work of multicultural counselors. People have ceased from being confined in their regions because of the scarcity of opportunities.

People from various backgrounds are meeting in countries that have cultures that far much different from theirs. They encounter difficulties while trying to adjust themselves to the changes. The challenges affect them at varied intensity depending on their age, gender and religion. The multicultural counselors must be ready to tackle such difficulties in order to assist their clients overcome these obstacles.

He/she should act as the role model of his/her clients. Both the counselor and the client must undertake their responsibility appropriately. The counselor must stick to the ethics of being a counselor. There are some personality traits that should be portrayed by a qualified counselor.

The clients expect the counselor to be open minded rather than being reserved. Besides that the counselor should pay close attention to the progress of their client and if they realize that the problem has remained persistent they should consider other alternatives. These are some of the issues that have been analyzed in this paper.

Introduction

Counseling entails giving people advice concerning their problems and the professionals who offer this advice are called counselors. When one is faced with difficulties and he/she does not know how to handle it or what steps to take, they are expected to consult a counselor. A counselor’s job is very demanding because he/she must change the thoughts of the client.

This job can further be complicated when the counselor deals with clients from all walks of life. Counselors are expected to deal with people from different backgrounds, cultures, and ethnicities, thus leading to the concept of multicultural counseling theory. This paper reviews the pros and cons of multicultural counseling.

Today our communities have been mixed up because the increase in human population has forced people to relocate to other countries in search of work. This is owing to the fact that the resources in their nations could hardly sustain them hence when they secured opportunities in foreign nations they decided to settle there.

Although they exist in foreign land they continue to exhibit their cultures which make them unique. However, multicultural counselors must be acquainted to the cultures of their clients because that way they will be in a position to understand their multicultural clients better (James, 2008).

Pros and Cons of Multicultural Counseling Theory

The pros and cons of MCT are attributed to factors such as ethnicity, gender, age, disability, and religion. The following are the strengths of MCT: (1). is flexible and takes into consideration different cultures; 2. It is in itself a theoretical model; 3. Understanding it helps counselors to deal with people from different cultures; and 4. several alternatives can be applied using MCT.

On the other hand, the limitations of MCT include: 1. the counselor need to understand different cultures; 2. there is need to understand the underlying concepts of MCT; 3. the theory has little research in relation to analytical evidence; 4. it neglects traditional therapies; and 5.

It is generally difficult for counselors to adopt MCT. In this light, the following section discusses the factors affecting multicultural counseling and the qualities required by a multicultural counselor. The factors are discussed in relation to the mentioned pros and cons of MCT.

Factors Influencing Multicultural Counseling

MCT outlines that when a counselor is giving advice he/she must not compromise the culture of his clients thus he/she should appreciate their differences. If the clients feel that their counselor does not understand them, such as why they do certain things or why they behave in a certain way, they will opt for a counselor who belongs to their ethnicity and thus multicultural counseling will loose its meaning.

The best strategy towards the success of multicultural counseling is to have customized approaches to client issues which might help solve their problems. If a counselor applies a uniform approach in solving clients’ problem he/she will not solve their problems in a satisfactory manner. This is because people understand things differently and their thoughts are influenced by their backgrounds and cultures.

It is unacceptable for a counselor to speak negatively about the cultures or ethnicity of his/her clients. If the clients came to realize this they would loose the pride that they have towards their culture and this may result in hatred.

According to Pedersen (2002), counselors should promote the tolerance of cultural diversity by appreciating their clients regardless of their background. If a counselor must discourage against a given cultural practice he/she must bring the point home in a polite manner because using rude language will make it sound like an insult.

The counselor should establish a friendship based on trust with his/her clients. For this trust to be realized, the counselor must prove to his/her clients that what they share is confidential because if they feel that their secrets are not safe they can’t dare to share vital information with the counselor. This information is important because it makes the client to provide the relevant information that could be the root cause of their problem.

This means that the counselor should be neutral while dealing with his/her clients because if he discriminates some of them the others will come to realize in one way or another and this will have a negative impact on the integrity of the counselor. This implies that a multicultural counselor should have strong interpersonal skills to enable him/her handle situations involving people from different cultures (Gladding, 2009).

Counselors must be familiar with the cultural values of their clients and also understand how the people of various backgrounds interact with the rest of the world. This refers to their likes and dislikes which is greatly influenced by their cultures. Failure to understand their tastes may cause the counselor to apply inappropriate approach to their problem.

The above stated scenario occurs quite often and that’s why you will hear clients saying that they sought professional help from a given counselor and it was not effective while another client may praise the competence of the same counselor. This could be due to the fact that the two clients are from different origins and the counselor in question could be familiar to the culture of one of them hence he was able to offer appropriate help.

When people from different cultures and races come together their differences become their identity. Pope-Davis and Coleman (2001) suggest that these differences are important because they give them a sense of belonging. Assuming that we were all different from each other, interaction would be impossible. When people from various cultures occupy the same habitat there are two possible outcomes of their interactions.

First, one culture might be eliminated by another. Either of the two cultures may be eliminated, that is, the host culture or the foreign culture, but this process depends on the one that dominates the habitat shared by the two cultures. For instance, if the foreigners outnumber the hosts, the culture of the foreigners is likely to be reserved while that of the host is scrapped off.

Secondly, the two cultures may be reserved but this happens when there is a balance between the hosts and the foreigners. In addition, some people are very conservative hence they can’t allow their cultures to be eliminated and thus they will do anything to ensure that their culture is recognized wherever they are located. This poses a greater challenge to counselors.

But this depends on how individuals feel about their culture. This is because there are some cultures that are seen to be enslaving people hence when the generation that introduced them dies, those who remain abolish it gradually. For instance, female circumcision among some African communities was a mandatory rite of passage but of late very few people continue to practice it because people are now aware of the dangers that come with it.

Multicultural counselors should also understand the differences of gender and sexuality, that is, men and women. Cormier, Nurius and Osborn (2008) explain that this is because both genders respond to situations differently. Furthermore, men and women have different attitudes. These elements are influenced by their genetic composition. Women tend to be emotional hence they are more delicate than men.

On the other hand, men are physical and that’s why when a man breaks up with his spouse its easier for him to move on with his life compared to the woman who takes more time to heal the wounds. Besides, counselors should familiarize themselves with clients of various sexual orientations. By doing so, they will be able to provide appropriate advice to their clients irrespective of their gender or sexual orientation.

This is because misunderstanding might cause the counselor to apply the wrong procedure towards solving the problem of the client. For instance, the counselor might recommend a strategy that is best suited for men to a female client hence it may not be effective.

Additionally, we all know that men and women possess different characteristics. For example, we know that women have mothering ability hence they are the ones who can best monitor their infants than the fathers of their young ones.

Prochaska and Norcross (2007) reckons that counselors must appreciate their clients’ sexual orientation regardless of whether they are gay or lesbians hence when they are dealing with such people they must try their best not to show their hatred towards people who are of unacceptable sexual orientation but instead focus on the matter at hand.

For example, when a counselor is dealing with a client who is bisexual and is suffering from HIV/AIDS, he/she should not blame the orientation of that client for his sickness but should rather help the client to cope with the stigma that is associated with the ailment in question.

Some people are troubled by small issues such as being under the leadership of a woman. This could be due to the fact that women are not supposed to assume leadership as far as the client’s background is concerned. In order to understand issues that are related to gender it would be best if the counselor inquired from the client what her/his community expects from each gender.

This implies that the counselor should engage the client in analyzing the roles that are supposed to be played by men. The other most important aspect in multicultural counseling is power analysis.

It is a simple method that is used by counselors to enlighten the clients about the powers that are entitled to them and the reasons why they are allowed to exercise the same powers. The power in this case is limited to the client’s life with regard to what they own and what they can’t do.

Counselors must learn how to deal with people of different ages. This entails learning how they behave at various ages. This helps the counselor to find out which measures are best suited for teenagers, youths, and the elderly. This is because people have different thoughts at different ages.

For instance, teenagers think that their parents are too old hence they perceive them to be outdated and come to realize later in life that their parents were actually right. Moreover, teenagers tend to be rebellious hence when a counselor is making suggestions he/she should be patient with them.

The elderly on the other hand are fond of forgetting things very fast hence they have to be reminded frequently. This means that the counselor must be patient with them and also be gradual with them instead of rushing things. Another group of people that is delicate comprises of the disabled.

Skovholt (2001) explains that counselors must watch their tongues while conversing with such people because they are easily offended by negative remarks that could be unintentional.

People with disabilities don’t like it when they are given special care due to their condition hence when a counselor is assisting such a person he should mention that it’s done to everyone. Besides, counselors must be acquainted with the issues that affect the disabled and their families.

Religion and spirituality also influences the effectiveness of counseling. The counselors must get used to handling clients from various religions. Religion comprises of believes and faith which are crucial in counseling. Some recommendations that are made by counselors could be against the religion of the client hence there will be a conflict.

The counselor should analyze the beliefs of his/her clients before he gives counsel because that way he will establish measures that are suitable to people of a particular religion. When counseling goes against the beliefs of the client, it will make the client feel guilty because to some people religion is so dear to them.

When a counselor is dealing with a huge group of people from various backgrounds its important to select those that share the same cultural values and isolate them from those who are extremely different from each other. The counselor should then revisit each client’s background information to establish the best possible solution.

It is also necessary to consider the thoughts of the client in relation to those whom he/she interacts with on a daily basis. The counselor should inform the client that changes are part of life because different people do things differently hence some of the things that are acceptable in their motherland may be unacceptable in the foreign country.

Besides, when a counselor is obtaining information from a client who hails from a different culture he/she must ignore the mistakes that may be on the speech of the client such as incorrect grammar. This will make the client to feel at home and thus give more information pertaining to his/her problem (Safran and Muran, 2000).

The counselor should allow the client to set the things that are more important and relevant to him/her. The counselor should handle cases differently just as they are brought by different people. Some counselors assume they already know where there client is headed hence they misinterpret their client’s statement. This is most common in cases where the counselor and the client are from the same background. This generalization and assumption is bad because the situation may not be close to what the counselor thinks.

The response of a counselor should not be protective. This means that if the client explains his/her problem the counselor should not make a remark that implies that the problem is not that serious. For instance, if a client expresses how he/she was humiliated in a public gathering just because he is of a different ethnicity, the counselor should not make statements such as “you will get used to it”.

According to Freire (2005), a counselor should never victimize people who belong to a race that is perceived to be hostile to others or criminals even when he himself has encountered their discriminating traits or his relatives.

For instance, a black American might feel uncomfortable when dealing with Native Americans when she knows that her father was brutally murdered by a Native American. To deal with this problem a counselor should know that when he/she is offended by someone from a different community it does not mean that everyone from that race is a criminal or something close to that.

MCT requires that the counselor should seek to know the cultural background of the client. The counselor should employ an approach that is appropriate. This means that the question about the client’s racial background should be introduced indirectly. This is necessary because some clients don’t like it when someone asks them about their ethnicity because they fear that they will be handled according to their background.

This fear is owed to experiences of the client in question. Counselors should encourage their clients to mingle with the people who are of different cultures from others. This will help the diverse people to accept each other and thus live in harmony. The client should be informed that going back to their mother land is the last option hence they should get used to seeing things being done differently as opposed to what they would expect.

For counseling to be effective both parties must play their parts well. The client should follow the counsel of the counselor and the counselor must provide the appropriate counsel. There are counselors who go against the ethics of counseling. They do this by sharing information concerning their clients with others.

This suggests that such a counselor does not have the interests of his/her clients at heart. Gladding (2009) advises that a good counselor should be honest when dealing with clients. They should not lie to their clients. Lying can mislead clients and when they realize that the person whom they trusted with their problems and secrets is untrustworthy they will look for another reputable counselor.

Some counselors lie to their clients even when they know very well that whatever they are saying could be dangerous. If a counselor is not sure about something he/she should be sincere while giving advice. Lying occurs when some people want to portray themselves to know everything.

A counselor should be caring to his/her clients. A counselor should caution his/her client about the consequences of any affirmative action that the client wishes to take. There are times when clients have fallen victims of dangerous consequences at the hands of their counselors. Such counselors are only interested on the money that they are paid by their clients.

A counselor should be flexible such that if the measure he/she recommends to the client does not work he/she should have another strategy ready for implementation. Some counselors are not flexible because they stick to the same strategy for a long time just because it worked for a few clients while it does not work for the rest. There are usually several ways of doing something to achieve the same results.

A counselor should have a clear objective towards helping the client’s problems. A counselor should overcome the hurdles that arise in the course of helping the client. He/she should consider doing anything possible to assist the client. Sometimes the counselor has to make sacrifices towards the success of his/her client. This means that the client is given the first priority.

There are counselors who put money before their clients to an extent they can’t listen to the problems that are being passed across by the client unless money is put on the table. A good counselor should be patient with his/her clients. This means he/she should give the client some time to get used to the measure they intend to implement on the client.

A counselor should know that since the problem of the client did not develop in one day it’s not possible to eliminate it in one day. Healing is a gradual process because if it happens abruptly it might cause drawbacks.

Diller (2007) argues that a counselor should not show any sign of weakness even when it seems the situation is getting out of hand. Showing weakness will make the client loose confidence in him/her because the client expects him to offer the necessary support that is needed by the client. It is during such occasions that the counselor should provide warmth to the client which is meant to encourage the client to continue soldiering on.

Conclusion

Multicultural counseling theory demands a lot of efforts in cultural diversity and thus its limitations overweigh the strengths. This paper has discussed the pros and cons of multicultural counseling with regard to factors the influence the theory. The factors include ethnicity, gender, age, disability, and religion.

I essence, a multicultural counselor should have compassion over his/her clients. This aspect goes hand in hand with love for people because without love a counselor cannot make a single sacrifice towards the wellness of his/her client. In addition, the counselor should exercise caution over sensitive issues that concern his/her clients.

He/she should consider the consequences that are most likely to occur when sensitive issues that are highly valued by the client fail to bring the desired results. Therefore, a multicultural counselor should have dealt with many people from diverse cultures for him/her to have broad knowledge of carrying out multicultural counseling.

References

Cormier, S., Nurius, P. Osborn, J. (2008). Interviewing and Change Strategies for Helpers: Fundamental Skills. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.

Diller, J.V. (2007). Cultural Diversity. 3^rd Ed. Belmont, CA: Thomson, Brooks/Cole:

Freire, P. (2005). Education for Critical Consciousness. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group.

Gladding, S.T. (2009).Counseling: A comprehensive Profession. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

James, K.R. (2008).Crisis Intervention Strategies. Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole.

Pedersen, P. (2002).Counseling Across Cultures, London: Sage Inc.

Pope-Davis, B. & Coleman, L.H. (2001).The Intersection of Race, Class, and Gender in Multicultural Counseling. California: Sage Learning.

Prochaska, J.O. & Norcross, J.C. (2007.). Systems of Psychotherapy: A Transtheoretical Analysis. 6^th Ed. Pacific Grove, CA: Thomson Learning.

Safran, J.D., & Muran, J.C. (2000).Negotiating the Therapeutic Alliance: A relational Treatment Guide. New York: Guilford.

Skovholt, T.M, T.M. (2001).The Resilient Practitioner: Burnout Prevention and Self-care Strategies for Counselors, Therapists, and Health Professionals. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

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