Multicultural Issues and Diversity in Counseling - Research Paper Example

Diversity in Counseling Multicultural Issues and Diversity in Counseling Introduction It hasbeen asserted in the contemporary literature that counselors attend clients who belong to different ethnicities, dialects, demographics and cultures and for that reason they need to maintain a multicultural perspective. Without understanding the multicultural perspective of clients, counselors remain incompetent in their services. This paper is a review of multicultural counseling. It will discuss multicultural counseling issues and will review the extent to which diversity is involved in counseling.

Diversity in Counseling The multicultural movement began about four to five decades back when Wrenn’s (1962) published an article “The Cultural Encapsulated Counselor”, which discussed the intensive nature of diversity in counseling (Patterson, 1996, p. 227). The issues related to diversity in counseling became more common when Native blacks, Whites and minorities started to receive their treatment from the same counselors in the early years. Counselors were faced with issues of diversity and from that point researches and surveys were conducted to form an understanding on how diversity in patients backgrounds could be dealt with in a better way through counseling.

These differences in the ethnic backgrounds of clients gave rise to diversity in counseling and counseling services. It was actually the element of diversity, which solely changed the whole system of counseling. It was a positive reform, which allowed developing better approaches to counseling and dealing effectively with individuals having different backgrounds and perspectives (Patterson, 1996). Diversity in counseling becomes an issue when both client and counselor have different demographics such as race or cultural background.

Definitely, when there are differences in cultures, social class or statuses the factor of diversity is inevitable for consideration in counseling (Sue & Arredondo, 1992). In United States, due to the high influx of migrants from other countries having different backgrounds significant demographic differences are observed in all its communities. This is the reason that the element of multiculturalism exists in this society and it is quite common. This element of multiculturalism is also faced in counseling, where it has become very common that both clients and counselors have different backgrounds and demographics and counselors need to have the ability to deal with clients who could have entirely different approach or view.

In the field of counseling, multiculturalism is considered as “the fourth force of change” other than three forces of existentialism, psychodynamics, and behavioral counseling, which brought major reforms in the counseling field. It shows that diversity has always remained important for the counseling professionals, who consider it as a factor of change and revival in the counseling field. The Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development (AMCD) set multicultural counseling standards / competencies, which have been accepted and endorsed by the American Counseling Association (ACA).

This reflects that the issue of diversity in counseling is widely recognized and dealt with. Without giving due consideration to diversity in counseling it is not possible to delivery the expected output (Sue & Arredondo, 1992). Presently, counselors in this field are expected to follow all codes and obligations set out in multicultural counseling standards. They understand the importance of the codes, which are meant to ensure competency in their profession and services they deliver. Multicultural Issues Every individual is different on the basis of his or her psychological standing and counselors need to recognize this fact.

These differences are in terms of the variations in individuals’ behavior, which is an outcome of differences in culture, background, ethnicity or class. Definitely, when these factors change for individuals their behaviors change too. Therefore, in order to understand their behavioral problems, counselors need to learn and gain knowledge and skills to engage with different backgrounds, cultures and ethnicities. This is a very basic requirement in the multicultural counseling diagnosis, which becomes a challenging task for counselors, as they have to deal with their findings by having a multidimensional approach (LeBeauf, Smaby, & Maddux, 2009).

Problems surely arise when counselors and clients are from different cultures. According to Padilla (1973), counselors face interaction problems when they meet clients having different ethnicities from their own. The author asserts that even trained counselors face difficulty in communication when they deal with clients using different dialects. The major issues come in employing competent counselors who are fully aware of the cultural diversity in the cross-cultural environment. Definitely, if counselors are well prepared to such diverse environment, only then they can deliver effective care and service.

Becoming a competent counselor is a challenge for each counselor, as it requires a profound understanding and knowledge of the multicultural environment (Sumari & Hanim, 2008). It has been seen that counselors fail to deliver just because they are not fit for the cross-cultural perspective and approach. If they have skills and competencies for dealing with multiculturalism as described by the counseling institutions, then they are more likely to be effective in their services (Patterson, 1996).

References List LeBeauf, I., Smaby, M., & Maddux, C. (2009). Adapting Counseling Skills for Multicultural and Diverse Clients. New York: American Counseling Association. Patterson, C. (1996). Multicultural Counseling: From Diversity to Universality. Journal of Counseling and Development , 74, 227-231. Sue, D., & Arredondo, P. (1992). Multicultural Counseling Competencies and Standards: A Call to the Profession. Journal of Counseling Development , 70, 477-483. Sumari, M., & Hanim, J. (2008). Cultural Issues in Counseling: An International Perspective.

Counselling, Psychotherapy and Health , 4 (1), 24-34.