Multicultural Counseling
Clients seek therapy for multiple reasons, they
are looking for support, suggestions, answers, and to be heard. Having
the tools and skills available to assist everyone requires awareness.
Counselors must be aware of their own cultural values and biases, aware of
their client’s worldview, and how to use culturally appropriate intervention
methods where needed. Cultural competence is a model of developing
skills, knowledge, and self-awareness to be more effective working with a
diverse population. To become more culturally competent, one must learn
about their own heritage, family, and representation style, learn about other
cultures, work with diverse groups, then grow through experience (Jackson,
2020).
Therapists learn
early on that effective counseling can rewire the brain. Clients seek
help because of issues like poverty, neglect, abuse, and addictions, along with
many other problems that involve cultural oppression. These issues,
including stress, cause 80% of medical issues and reduce one’s cognitive and
emotional skills. Changing the way clients think, feel, and behave adds
new neuron connections and promotes resilience (Ivey et al, 2016).
Patients want to be heard and understood, that is the foundation of counseling,
but knowing how to listen and how to relate requires cultural competency.
Therapists need
to act like teachers, consultants, coaches, and mentors. Building trust
with the patient requires “being” with them in times of trouble and
acknowledging their victories. To fully immerse yourself into the
patient’s life situation, you must first be aware of yourself.
Self-reflect on how your different social identities like religion, gender,
generation, education, and ethnicity has influenced your worldview. Then,
by valuing others, be curious. Demonstrate a willingness to learn and
respond from a genuine place. Ask them questions and learn about their
perspectives. Having high cultural humility, we have an accurate view of
ourselves and respect for others. Studies have shown that patients who
perceive their therapist with high levels of cultural humility experience
improvement in their counseling (Shaw, 2016). Also, remember one-size
doesn’t fit all. How one person views an event, another person’s
perspective can be completely different.
“Multicultural
awareness enriches uniqueness only when it allows us to become more aware of
how much each person is different from another (Ivey et al, 2016).
There are different approaches that allow us to recognize the
multidimensionality of all clients in comprehensive ways, a well known model is
called the RESPECTFUL model. RESPECTFUL is an acronym for religion or
spiritual identity, economic standing, sexual identity, psychological maturity,
ethnicity, or cultural background, chronological, meaning the development of
challenges, trauma, family, uniqueness, and location (10 multicultural
factors to consider in counseling, 2017). Knowing about the patient’s
histories, values, attitudes, and behaviors makes establishing empathy,
teaching, building rapport, and analyzing feedback more accurate. The
goal is to find a “common ground” through cultural diversity.
Culturally
sensitive therapy emphasizes the therapist’s understanding of a client’s
background and respecting differences in opinions, values, and attitudes to
provide the best treatment approach. Gaining and maintaining cultural
competence is done by understanding one’s own culture and how it influences the
relationship with the client. It can be strengthened through education,
self-reflection, and therapy. Patients that see that their therapist
understands them and see how certain events can affect their lives, tend to
fare better within their counseling sessions. Knowing when to use
cultural opportunities and deviate the therapeutic approaches makes a skilled,
multicultural therapist.
References
10 multicultural factors to consider in
counseling. (2017, April 5). Online counseling programs. https://onlinecounselingprograms.com/resources/multicultural-counseling-model/
Ivey, A. E., Ivey, M. B., & Zalaquett, C. P.
(2016). Essentials of intentional interviewing. New York: Cengage. ISBN:
978-1-305-39955-6.
Jackson, J. (2020, July 6). 5 ways to be a
culturally responsive therapist. Mental Health Match. https://mentalhealthmatch.com/articles/for-therapists/culturally-responsive-therapist
Shaw, S. (2016,
December 27). Practicing cultural humility. Counseling Today. https://www.aipc.net.au/articles/five-counselling-microskills/
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