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Culture diversity
Importance of communication in counselling PDF
Culture diversity
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In the growing community where I reside in northern Colorado, the population is a mix of Euro-Americans and Mexican-Americans. Therefore, the majority of clients entering into agencies in the community would be of these populations. The issues foreseen would be communication concerns, even though, the child speaks English the parents may not or it may be limited. With this knowledge as a professional counselor, it is the responsibility of the professional to educate themselves on the culture of the clientele in their community. Hays (2008) reports, In the Mexican American culture attending counseling by a professional, is the last resort, they typically keep their issues within their family. Therefore, by the time a Mexican-American client …show more content…
There are several things a professional counselor needs to be aware of when working with clients of a culture other than their own, one of them is to not assume because you have read about their culture you know their culture (Hays, 2008). Each person and their experiences are different; therefore, it is best to ask the person to tell you about themselves. Sue et al., (2007) reports, the counselor needs to be aware of their nonverbal expressions or microaggressions people express even without their knowledge can be offensive or come across as disrespectful or threatening. If the counselor is able to obtain some background about the family this can be helpful in treating them, such as the acculturalization of the child and his parent, such as are they first generation into the culture of the United States? (Shapiro, Friedberg & Bardenstein, 2006). In Mexican-American families, there is a strong hierarchy of respect and the counselor needs to be aware of this, therefore, it would be disrespectful if the counselor is having the child translate to between the parents and the counselor. Thus, the counselor should either refer the family to a bilingual counselor or if there is no one available they should obtain an interpreter to assist by translating
In some countries, seeking medical help for mental health issues is the reasonable thing to do, where other cultures may view it as taboo and believe those matters should be left to religion or the family. Another vital aspect of multicultural counseling is the relationship between the therapist and counselee. It is essential that both parties are aware of the existing cultural differences. As a professional counselor, I will continue to educate myself properly, so as to give the best counsel by building trust and rapport. A few other aspects to keep in mind is learning to become culturally sensitive to communication and steering clear of trigger words or speech that the client may find offensive. Also, being aware of spatial distance is necessary. Some cultures prefer close contact and others may find too close of a distance
Awareness of and sensitivity to other’s gender, age, race, religion, culture, and recognizing these factors as influential in communicating in others allow clinicians to enhance the multicultural communication. An effective therapist recognizes that social, physical, and cultural factors shape the way people think, behave, and talk, and integrate this knowledge into delivering culturally appropriate treatment
The Latino culture is a collectivistic culture that puts group interests over individual interests. When counseling Latinos, one needs to keep in mind the importance of family in their culture. Family members need to be a part of the counseling process. At times, group counseling with the whole family could help, along with involving family in the treatment process. With the potential language barrier a counselor could also ask an interpreter to mediate with the client during sessions to make sure there is an understanding between the client and the
Upon initial intake, Mr. Carols mentioned that he struggles with the English language. Mr. Carols stated that the English language “makes living in the U.S difficult”. The first cultural dilemma in this situation is the language barrier. In many cultures, communication is very important. Every culture has a unique style of verbal and non-verbal communication. For example, in Arabic culture it is extremely rude to say the word “what” to anyone older than you. Whereas, in American culture this is practiced regularly. The communication barrier between the client and the Social Worker may cause the client to feel uncomfortable at times and possibly even insulted. According to Valuing Differences and Diversity (1977), “if Hispanic individuals with whom you talk do not speak your language proficiently, encourage and praise them for their effort to learn your language”. (Wittmer, p. 137). It is recommended not to ask the clients whether they would like to strengthen their English, but rather to recognize their struggle and to commend them for the efforts. Furthermore, the dynamic of learning the English language has changed completely over the past few years. According to an article by
The theoretical approach used to research the use of interpreters in counseling was a culturally grounded approach. According to Marsiglia and Kulis (2009) a culturally grounded approach embraces diversity and multiculturalism and also promotes a change that improves an individual or a group’s quality of life (p. 102-103). Farooq and Fear (2003) state that counseling is a social service that has been shown to need a culturally competent staff and the use of a culturally competent staff improves the quality of service the client receives. Social services are not always culturally competent (Marsiglia & Kulis, 2009). A culturally grounded approach in the research of the use of interpreters in counseling looks at how interpreters improve counseling service provided to clients who either speak English as a second language or do not speak English. The use of a culturally grounded a...
Allison showed lack of awareness about Carmen’s cultural values. Allison should seek training about counseling Latinos. Allison’s practicum is in an agency located in a predominately Latino neighborhood. Carmen might not return to counseling with Allison, but Allison is likely to have another Latino client. Thus, receiving appropriate training about counseling Latinos would prepare Allison for future clients that she would encounter. The four dimensions of training that Corey et al. (2011) recommended are: self-exploration, didactic course work, internship, and experiential approaches (p. 145). There are various options that Allison has to educate herself around providing effective and ethically appropriate counseling with Latinos.
As Kirst-Ashman and Hull Jr (2012, pp. 453-454) reminds us, “the family is central to Hispanic culture and is hierarchical in structure. That is the father is the primary authority figure (Devore & Schlesinger, 1996). Furthermore, scholars inform us that many Hispanic fathers appear somewhat aloof from the family, especially the children as it is the father’s role to pursue instrumental roles such as earning a living. Often, this results in the father being less likely to express emotional support (Kirst-Ashman & Hull Jr., p. 454). Understanding these concepts of the Hernandez family culture as well as asking questions about their family members depicted on the genogram can aid me to become more informed. This can be a very positive step in the right direction in building a relationship of mutual respect and trust as in our respective roles as client and social work professional enhancing our ability to work together to determine the best intervention
With the growing population of minorities in the United States, it is reasonable to believe that at some point in a counselor or therapist career, there will be a session with a Latino/Hispanic client. From a cultural competence perspective, it is imperative that a counselor understands the Latino/Hispanic culture and their worldviews. Counseling Latinos offer to be discussed in the paper is the case of an Alberto and Angela a Mexican American couple married for 27 years. Alberto has recently lost his job. (
As a professional school counselor, the way that I would begin the counseling journey with Maria is by first gaining competence in helping someone who is Hispanic given that I have little experience. In order to gain competence to help Maria who is Hispanic is by reading books, attending workshops, and spending more time with people in the Hispanic culture as well. To assist Maria with her issues that have personal, emotional, developmental, cultural, and spiritual/ religious ramifications, I would first ask her how has moving to the US along with being pregnant and having issues in school impacted her. People who are Hispanic that are coming to the US are more likely to face barriers in the schools or their jobs that will definitely impact their mental health.
The cultural competence training (CCT) can be a basic requirement for mental health professionals working with culturally diverse children in the school-based setting. The CCT implementation may improve the quality of school-based mental health intervention providing and its strategies for East Asian immigrant children. For providing the CCT strategy among school professionals, who directly implement mental health interventions among immigrant children, I think obtaining opinions is worth to understand its necessity and feasibility. So, I may listen opinions from collaborative team members that would be mental health professionals, community individuals, and family members who have various perspectives and knowledge.
There are different perspectives, however, which put stress on various aspects of culture and try to identify its boundaries and its substitutes. Some regard culture as separate entity from demographic factors, some point out acculturation as one of the obstacles, which makes culture difficult to identify, some show how an intimate and meaningful relationship between a counsellor and a culturally different client to be established. In this essay I will be discussing what the different concepts of understanding of culture in Counselling are, by examining different authors and perspectives and evaluating their strengths and weaknesses.
Successful practice with immigrants is guided by concepts and theories that enhance perception of their presenting concerns, and provide a basis for precise assessment that lead to relevant interventions to enhance their functioning and expand their resources (Congress & Chang-Muy, 2009). The social worker in Claudia Case is aware of the social issues the family faces such as difficulty speaking and learning English initiating to Claudia’s mother Paula that she would translate vital information to Spanish to ensure Paula needs are met. Immediately that made Paula feel comfortable. Social workers should have a knowledge base of their clients’ cultures and be able to demonstrate competence in the provision of services that are sensitive to clients’ cultures and to differences among people and cultural groups (NASW code of Ethics,
Sue, Derald Wing; Sue, David (2012-07-10). Counseling the Culturally Diverse: Theory and Practice (Wiley Desktop Editions). Wiley. Kindle Edition.
HS 43 Term Paper 4 Core functions of a Substance Abuse Counselor By Roslyn Smith Introduction This paper will discuss the following 4 Core Functions of a Counselor: Case Management, Client Education, Crisis Intervention, Referral and their primary purposes. Discussion Case Management According to IC & RC, Case Management is defined as, “activities intended to bring services, agencies, resources, or people together within a planned framework of action toward the achievement of established goals.
Negroni-Rodriguez, L. K., & Morales, J. (2001). Individual and family assessment skills with Latino/Hispanic Americans. In R. Fong & S. Furuto (Eds.), Culturally competent practice: Skills, interventions, and evaluations (pp. 132-146). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon