Ethics And Multicultural Counseling Paper

Ethics and Multicultural Counseling Everyone possesses their own personal beliefs and morals. An individual makes many life decisions based upon their belief system that is formed from parents, religion, and society. Once entering a clinical and mental health counseling field, we are advised to not impart our belief system onto the clients we will serve (ACA, 2014). In the article, “Judge Throws Out Counseling Student’s Suit Against Augusta State” was based on the American Counseling Association’s Code of Ethics and our duty to be non-discriminatory towards clients (Rudow, 2012). The article states a counseling student was against helping a client if they were homosexual, and that sexual orientation was against her religious beliefs, thus

A counselor’s nonverbal cues and body language can be misinterpreted by clients from different cultures, so it is essential for a counselor to display appropriate cues for the specific culture they are treating (Hays & Erford, 2014). Additionally, Hays & Erford (2014) mentions the importance of emotional expression. Again, it is necessary to have a working knowledge of the culture of your client as to not oppress them with an expression not accepted in their culture, such as direct eye contact. Another significant characteristic an effective counselor should possess is an awareness of their personal belief system or biases and not reflect those onto the client at any point in the counseling process (Hays & Erford, 2014). Finally, a counselor should be prepared to advocate and provide support for their clients. Moreover, many cultures frown on receiving mental health services, or have little accessibility to those, it is fundamentally necessary to be able to show empathy (Hays & Erford,

The diverse population that counselors serve daily requires knowledge in many areas. Hays & Erford (2014) state that developing multicultural competence is essential as the number of culturally diverse clients continue to rise. Furthermore, counselor who is culturally competent implies the counselor is aware of their biases, understands the values of the diverse client, and provides interventions that are appropriate for the specific culture (Hays & Erford, 2014). A counselor must be cognizant of the differences between themselves and the client, and can equally respect the differences. In the same way, a counselor should be open to learning about a different culture, sexual orientation, or a disability if it is not familiar to them. In preparation for multicultural counseling, a counselor needs to aware of the client’s perception of the world around them (Hays & Erford, 2014). Being able to share common ground with a client rom another culture by understanding a popular culinary dish or tradition that they enjoy can be a beginning to a session. Additionally, a counselor must be informed and knowledgeable of the appropriate interventions to use with different ethnicities. Creating an intervention plan tailored to a client requires a counselor to understand what the client’s everyday norms and beliefs are (Hays & Erford, 2014). If there is a language