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The importance of cultural context in counselling
How does a client's culture impact the skills used in counseling
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Cultural Considerations in Building a Counseling Relationship Counseling is a process in which a counselor and client must build a good rapport and relationship in order to be successful in reaching the goal at hand. There are several stages of counseling which must be considered when counselors intend to build a relationship with their client, each stage being equally important in leading to the next stage. The stages of counseling include: establishing the working relationship, assessing or defining the presenting problem, identifying and setting goals, choosing and initiating interventions and planning and introducing termination and follow-up (Hackney & Comier, 2013). I will discuss each of the stages of counseling and cultural considerations that must be taken in building a counseling relationship. Stages of Counseling Establishing a relationship with clients refer the counselor building a rapport with their clients. This involves factors such as respect, trust, psychological comfort, and shared purpose. This rapport is the psychological climate that emerges from the interpersonal contact between a counselor and their client (Hackney & Comier, 2013). In order for the counseling process to be successful a positive rapport must be established. Building a rapport is an ongoing process that must be worked on continuously. This process requires a high level of tact and adequate socialization skills. In addition, special consideration should be taken into factors and preexisting conditions, such as the clients comfort level in seeking professional assistance, their personal background and experiences and the client’s perceptions of their counselor, which may affect building a positive rapport with a client. With these anticip... ... middle of paper ... ...l their clients by understanding the dynamics of the stages of counseling. In order to enforce these skills counselors must be aware of cultural differences that can affect the counseling relationship. Additionally counselors must be open to gaining knowledge of cultural differences and applying their knowledge throughout the counseling process. Open-mindedness, attentiveness and sensitivity will reinforce a positive multicultural counseling relationship. References Hackney, H. & Cormier,S. (2013). The Professional Counselor: A Process Guide for Helping (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Lee, D. (1984). Counseling and Culture: Some Issues. Personnel & Guidance Journal, 62(10), 592. Pedersen, P. B. (1991). Multiculturalism as a Generic Approach to Counseling. Journal Of Counseling & Development, 70(1), 6-12.
Although, even if the therapist is from the same cultural background this can still be hard to counsel these clients because of different traditions, language dialects, family values, and ancestry. This does not mean that the therapist cannot help these clients, but this could hinder the therapist and client relationship if brought up in an entire different environment. For instance, you can have two individuals from the same cultural background and family values, but these individuals live in an entirely different environment or learned different family values and belief system. When working with a diverse client, it is very important to monitor your own culturally beliefs and be willing to work with the client no matter if you have any biases or prejudice towards them. Some of the strategies that could be helpful in these situations include, (a) treat the client the same way you would like to be treated, (b) research some information about the clients background and, (c) beware of your own cultural biases and prejudices when counseling minorities if your unaware of their backgrounds.
Acculturation, worldview and perceived discrimination as cultural variables influence career behaviors of racial/ethnic minorities. Multicultural education and diversity appreciation training are thought to decrease counselor prejudice. Theme four looks at multicultural issues that require counselors to incorporate cultural data into their thinking and actions. Multicultural competence incorporates learning how to include cultural data into decision making process of complicated problems and interventions posed by culturally different clients. Theme five posits that people have multiple identities that affect the ways they experience and view the world. Multiple identities are used to refer to variables such as sex, age, socioeconomic status, nationality and ethnicity which impact an individual’s behavior, perception and
According to the American Association of Christian Counselors (2014); in ES1-500: Cultural Regard in Christian Counseling- A Call to Dignity Cultural, ethnic and racial diversity are important factors for consideration in the delivery of counseling related services (p. 25). Counselors need to have some level of knowledge and awareness when it comes to religious and spiritual beliefs. In ES1-510, it discusses how Christian counselors will need to recognize and acknowledge that all people have been created in the image of the Holy God and all clients have the right to be valued and respected, receive ethical care, and to be treated with dignity. “In 1-520: Cultural Competency Christian counselors earnestly strive to develop and maintain culturally
Current research implies that an empathetic clinician-client relationship and interrelated ecosystems play the majority role in the success of therapy (Kilpatrick & Holland, 2009). The clinician’s ability to be present and actively perceive what the client is experiencing is of utmost importance in creating a therapeutic alliance. It is imperative that the clinician gains positive regard towards the client and their environment displaying honest acceptance towards the client no matter what issues are presented in session. This closely relates to a sincere presentation of genuineness that instills a feeling of honesty within the client and clinician (Kilpatrick & Holland, 2009). An experienced clinician builds upon the therapeutic
The diversity among clients and the counselor is an issue that has recently come to the forefront. The counselor must be very cautious and sensitive to the cultural values of their clients, gender and gender preference, age, language preference, ethnicity, and spirituality and religious beliefs.
The idea is to do so by expressing a willingness to learn more about, and showing respect for the client’s worldview, belief systems, and means of problem-solving while remaining empathetic to their emotional journey. Discovering and addressing the client’s personal stories and realities will enable the counselor to establish culturally appropriate interventions.
“Seek out training in diversity, read literature and self-reflection.” (B. Schauland, personal communication, November 11, 2015) In our course on cultural diversity it has been discussed that individuals from different cultural backgrounds then the counselor may feel that the counselor does not understand their needs, can you reflect on this?
Understanding race, ethnicity, and culture is an extremely important aspect of being a counselor. If an individual does not have cultural identity of their own or understand his or herself as a cultural, ethnic, or racial individual, it may be difficult to help your clients. Understanding and being aware of your cultural identity will help the counselor be conscious of their own prejudice. Being aware of your own prejudice towards any culture, race, or ethnic group may help you redirect your negative thinking into a positive active role as a counselor. Having awareness will make an individual an improved counselor able to empathize and understand any individual who seeks therapy.
The counselor accomplishes the above by expressing empathy, developing discrepancies, going along with resistance and supporting self-efficacy. Moreover, the counselor guides the client toward a solution that will lead to permanent posi...
Counseling skills has provided me with a valuable insight into the helping relationship and how it is both created and maintained in order to encourage growth and development in the client. The factors involved within the helping relationship include considering Roger’s core conditions, congruence, unconditional positive regard and empathy as the three main characteristics necessary in a helping relationship. In order to fully incorporate all three of Roger’s core conditions, I as the counselor must be self-aware, as a lack of self-awareness may inhibit truly listening and understanding the client; self-awareness can be enhanced through exercises such as Johari’s window. Counseling skills such as body language and active listening also plays a role within encouraging the client to open up and can help me as the counselor convey empathy.
There are multiple structures of that can be applied to the counselling process, ranging from the basic idea of a beginning, middle and end to a more structured approach as that proposed by Egan (1994). Although his initial structure offered three main components; Stage 1, exploring the situation, stage 2, identifying a new or desired scenario to strive for and stage 3, the action stage, in which methods of coping are devised of and implemented. Egan later devised a ten stage structure that still takes into account initial stages from the speakers perspective of identifying a problem and seeking help, within this structure stage 4 is the initial meeting of the counsellor and client and can be considered the beginning stage of the helping re...
The use of active listening is an essential skill to achieve this type of relationship as well as a sensitivity for clients who come from a culture different than the counselor’s culture. Great counseling also includes being honest with the client from the first session where informed consent is provided. It is important to discuss the limitations of confidentiality. Another important factor is to guide the client into setting realistic goals, so the counseling sessions can be more
The counseling session began with the introductions where I introduced myself as the counselor and later introduced my client. This stage is important in any counseling session since it is the time of exploration and focusing according to Gerard Egan as quoted by Wright (1998) in his essay on couselling skills. It is in this session that I was able to establish rapport and trust with my client in order to come up with a working and fruitful relationship with him. During this stage I made use of skills like questioning, where I would pose a question directly to my client, sometimes I would choose to just listen to what the client wanted to speak out while in some instances I would be forced to paraphrase the question if I felt the client did not understand the question I had asked previously. There were also other times when I would reflect through silence. During such a period, I got time to study the client and the information he had given. This being a difficult area, since some clients may not be able to volunteer information to you as the counselor, I decided to assure the client of confidentiality of any information he was willing to share with me with a few exceptions which I also told him about. Being open to him about the only times the information may not be confidential was part of my building rapport and establishing trust with him. I therefore, decided to ask the client what information he wanted to share with me and lucky enough he was ready to speak to me about different issues that he was going through.
Be culturally competent means to me to consider culture and diversity as part of the counseling process by taking in consideration the client’s perspective, context, circumstances, background, and cultural values.
For many clients, the experience of counseling may be viewed as an advantageous relationship that has not only assisted them in modifying their cognition and behavior, to a more rational approach but has allowed them to encounter alternative solutions that can provide a new way of living. Unfortunately all good things must come to an end and when clients exemplify that their goals have been attained, the counseling relationship must be terminated. On the contrary, not all counseling relationships or sessions close on a good note, which may precipitate premature termination. Nevertheless, counselors must still implement closing tactics when terminating any session or relationship in therapy, despite their causes (Jacobs & Schimmel, 2012, pgs. 160-162). To further understand these strategies, I will elaborate on one uncommon reason a therapist might terminate a counseling relationship and describe specific steps of closing tactics that were displayed in Dr. Patton’s counseling video. In addition, I will also list five key points counselors should consider when terminating a counseling session and provide an analogy of one point that is being utilized in Dr. Buckley’s video (Laureate Education, 2010).