...Multicultural Awareness Multiculturalism has a vital role in counseling. According to Hays (2010) this type of counseling pays attention to the cultural diversities of clients in order to offer better services. To achieve multicultural awareness, the counselor has to know his or her own cultural characteristics. This article will contain the results of the multicultural-assessments I completed, my reflection on being “other,” as well as my statement of counseling identity and the explanation why multicultural awareness is important in the mental health counseling profession. Results of Self-Assessment Completing Petrone’s (2004) multicultural self-assessment was interesting and eye opening. In this test, choice number 1 means seldom, if ever; number 5 means almost always. Most of my scores were either fours or fives; these results tell me that I am interested in other people, paying attention to listen, and I am comfortable with new situations. I scored three threes in the following subjects: 1) I ask questions until I am sure I understand what others are saying; 2) If I were at an event with people who differed from me, I would make every effort to talk with them; 3) I try not to assume anything. Reaction to Self-Assessment After I finished the self-assessment, I immediately started thinking about the results. I realized that my not asking questions until I understand what others are saying is connected to the lower score about not assuming anything. Levitt (2010) talked...
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...Multicultural Awareness Mental Health Counseling After reviewing the results of my multicultural self-assessment scores, I have found that overall; I am very comfortable with myself and choices. In counseling, before understanding someone else you must first be able to understand yourself. Also the awareness of your own comfort range must be apparent. If it was not apparent, then how could you counsel someone else when you are uncomfortable with yourself? This self-assessment allowed me to realize factors that seemed to be unapparent before but, led me to see that they were important after all. “If you are lucky enough to be other, don’t ever change” I identified mostly with Jason Patton, PhD when he spoke about his first day at kindergarten, and he was made to feel other. What most got my attention was that he mentioned that he was an only child and spent a lot of time with adults, and was eager to be interacting the children his own age. I too was an only child and spent a lot of time with and adults. They adored me and made me feel loved, wanted and special. My first day at school was awful. The children looked at me as though I was an alien. I remember distinctly being called a chocolate girl, and then the comments about me being so tall began. From that point on I really did not enjoy school at all. I was afraid of being different. Being different meant that people might not like me. In my mind being called chocolate...
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...RUNNING HEAD: Diversity Issues in Career Counseling Abstract This paper will give a brief overview of how bias, assumptions and diversity can impact the career counseling relationship. The impact of values, bias, and the ability to move beyond barriers in the counseling relationship is essential to successful outcomes in working with clients. The rationale for the appropriateness of multicultural counseling competency and the impact of culture in the counseling process will be discussed as will multicultural counseling in the framework of career counseling. Culture & Counseling Counseling provides support, assistance and helps individuals to transition through developmental stages and life challenges. The study of human development, personality, psychopathology and multi-cultural issues in counseling has increased this writer’s awareness of the importance of counseling in the lives of human beings. According to Kluckhohn & Strodtbeck, human beings share biological traits and characteristics that form the basis of the development of culture (Kluckhohn & Strodtbeck, 1961). Kluckhohn & Strodtbeck further contend that people feel that their beliefs and values are normal and that other people’s values are abnormal or strange (Kluckhohn & Strodtbeck, 1961). The counselor must be able to incorporate cultural values and norms of the client in the process of their approach in order to have successful outcomes. The self concept, worldview, life...
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...Ethical Issues in Multicultural Counseling Abstract In the past, counselors have lacked the knowledge and skills to interpret ethical guidelines in multicultural counseling. The ethical guidelines dictate how a counselor should have the necessary tools when conducting a counseling session. There is a shortfall of training and education when dealing with race, ethnicity, and cultural backgrounds in today’s society. Ethics is a hot topic for counselors, partially because there are so many different situations that can be affected by ethical behavior. These situations can range from betraying the clients trust to injustice. There tends to be a lot of ambiguity for how to handle a situation ethically since there are a lot of variables involved in ethical issues. This involves disagreements in having one response that would be the most ethical response to that situation. There are many areas of ethical issues: privacy and confidentiality, informed consent, time and role boundaries, unplanned endings, finances, competence, and therapist initiated termination. Code of Ethics The code of ethics in social work, psychology, and counseling will continue to go through changes over time. Mental health professionals are expected to practice with the standards, and ethical code established by their professions. According to Pack-Brown, Thomas, and Seymour (2008) the American Counseling Association has established ethical responsibility for counselors to have enhancing human...
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...replace it with love, power and will. As I reflect on where I’ve been and my heritage, I pledge to look at their views, in correspondence to evidence-bases research, theories, and practicums. A dream that will allow me to console someone, provide professional support and treatment to a person who has sustained their discrepancy of their self-awareness, self-worth or identity. With the encouragement of prosperity, I promise to promote positivity and strengthen overpower a challenge. My word of honor, Is to treat others how I want to be treated and live a life that is substantial to others. With this, my goal is to...
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...Running Head: COUNSELING AND SOCIAL JUSTICE Stepping up Counseling Responsibilities in a Socially Unjust Society Abstract Social Justice has been an emerging issue over the last century in today’s service environment of helping professionals. I reviewed several articles where the main theme is; we live in a world of systems that allow for injustice and oppression. The Professional Counselor’s work deals with many of the symptoms that permit for this injustice and oppression. The articles had similar recurring traits that are stressed as important practices that need to be adopted by Professionals in the helping field to increase awareness of social justice and implement actions for change in a socially unjust society. I will explain the four main attributes: knowledge, awareness, research and advocacy and explain how education and focus in each area will contribute to the social justice inequities in the communities we practice. If professional counselors want to promote social justice, to be effective, there has to be a movement to take action on the burdensome stigmatisms and unfortunate inequities that human beings bring to professionals about the communities they live in. Social justice and the counseling profession have roots that goes back to the 1900’s. It has always been understood from a social work point of view that problems such as depression, anxiety, and abuse often derive from economic...
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...The American Counseling Association (ACA) has officially approved the multicultural competencies and has put much more emphasis on these competencies. Unlike the ACA, the American Psychological Association (APA), however, has only established non-obligating instructional rules for multicultural competencies (Ridley & Kleiner, 2003). Nonetheless, a noteworthy period of progress came forth with the publication of the “Guidelines on Multicultural Education, Training, Research, Practice, and Organizational Change for Psychologists” (American Psychological Association [APA], 2003). Supporters of multiculturalism worked together to incorporate and combine multiculturalism into the field of psychology and specific for APA (Arredondo & Perez,...
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...Guidelines on Multicultural Education, Training, Research, Practice, and Organizational Change for Psychologists American Psychological Association Approved as APA Policy by the APA Council of Representatives, August, 2002 Copyright, American Psychological Association, 2002 Author Note: This document was approved as policy of the American Psychological Association (APA) by the APA Council of Representatives in August, 2002. This document was drafted by a joint Task Force of APA Divisions 17 (Counseling Psychology) and 45 (The Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues). These guidelines have been in the process of development for 22 years, so many individuals and groups require acknowledgement. The Divisions 17/45 writing team for the present document included Nadya Fouad, PhD, Co-Chair, Patricia Arredondo, EdD, Co-Chair, Michael D’Andrea, EdD and Allen Ivey, EdD. These guidelines build on work related to multicultural counseling competencies by Division 17 (Sue et al., 1982) and the Association of Multicultural Counseling and Development (Arredondo et al., 1996; Sue, Arredondo, & McDavis, 1992). The Task Force acknowledges Allen Ivey, EdD, Thomas Parham, PhD, and Derald Wing Sue, PhD for their leadership related to the work on competencies. The Divisions 17/45 writing team for these guidelines was assisted in reviewing the relevant literature by Rod Goodyear, PhD, Jeffrey S. Mio, PhD, Ruperto (Toti) Perez, PhD, William Parham, PhD, and Derald Wing Sue...
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...Events Impact on School Counseling Profession Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting occurred December 14, 2012 in Newton, Connecticut. This was one of the deadliest mass shooting at a grade school in the history of the United States. A 20 year old male, Adam Lanza fatally shot 20 children and 6 adult staffers. Lanza also shot his mother. Lanza committed suicide by shooting himself in the head. Lanza had significant mental health issues which psychologist say did affect his ability to live a normal life. (www.CNN.com). Today there are has been more than 100 school shootings since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary. (www.schoolsecurity). Traumatic stress and psychological distress play a major role in counseling children. School counseling has become even more valuable in the U.S. due to traumatic events such as school shootings. School shootings have had a major impact on students, families and communities. There is a more security and law enforcement present at schools across the US and metal detectors in schools also. School children are being taught how to prepare if there is a shooter or shooters in schools. Due to the increased acts of violence in schools and the need for intensive intervention in student issues, school personnel, school boards, and communities are recognizing the need to provide effective prevention and intervention programs to address social, emotional, and academic needs of students. (Davis, T., 2015, Exploring School Counseling). In the next ten years...
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...Multicultural Psychology Multicultural Psychology Psychology is the organized study of behavior, thoughts and affects. Multicultural Psychology is a branch of the many different areas of psychology that analyzes the effects of culture on the feelings, behaviors, and thoughts of individuals. Culture is defined as a group of people characterized by shared values, customs, and behaviors. In this country there is emphasis placed on different racial groups, inter-marriage, minority adoptions and numerous other areas. According to “What is Multicultural Psychology” (n.d.), multicultural psychology differentiates between a narrow definition of culture which is limited to race, ethnicity, and nationality. The broad definition of culture includes any or all important and meaningful ways to identify individuals or groups. Multicultural psychology is needed because this country is so diverse where people of different backgrounds will always encounter one another. History The field of multicultural psychology has a long and complex history. Studies recognized the large cultural and social change in the United States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as new immigrants, new women, and racial minorities strived for equality and social justice (Oliver, 2010). Psychologist conduct studies on human issues that begin before birth, and continue through the end of life. Multicultural psychology evolved primarily from clinical and counseling psychology. It evolved through...
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...Some of the challenges about ethics and law related to my future counseling practice include imposing my own values, beliefs and ideals on clients, maintaining the competence and skills needed to effectively abide by said ethics and laws and deciphering how to take action when laws and ethics collide. Ethics are the philosophical underpinnings of human conduct, and it is important for counselors to uphold all aspects of ethics in order to provide the highest level of care and avoid charges of unethical conduct (Bradley & Hendricks, 2008). Two forms of ethics that exist are principle ethics and virtue ethics. Principle ethics embody moral principles that are widely agreed upon beliefs that make up helping professions. The six main moral principles include autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, justice, fidelity and veracity. The second form of ethics is virtue ethics. Virtue ethics revolve around personal characteristics and virtues and entail integrity, discernment, acceptance of emotion, self-awareness and interdependence with the community (Remley & Herlihy, 2014). According to Jennings, et al. (2005), one key to avoiding ethical dilemmas is by avoiding personal biases and views in client sessions. According the ACA Code of Ethics (2005), any personal views that are not aligned with counseling goals must be avoided, and counselors need to remain aware of these views and respect all forms of diversity when it relates to clients, trainees and research participants. Because...
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...Group work plays an essential role in the counseling field and is predominantly used to encourage open communication, provide insight, build trust and promote personal growth of members. In my scholarly paper entitled “Importance of multicultural competencies on effective counseling services” I discussed thoroughly the role of culturally competent counselors and the importance. As with any other area in the field, culturally skilled group counselors are cognizant of the fact that “cultural self-awareness and sensitivity to one’s own cultural heritage” (Corey, 2013, p. 25) plays an integral role in the helping process. Equally, within both group and individual counseling, counselors have to develop an ability to recognize which values and assumptions...
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...Diversity Concepts, Research, Theories and Multicultural II. Weight- Discriminations and Lookism A. Ways Obese Individuals are Discriminated Against B. Weight Discrimination Explained through theories C. Theories to Reduce Weight Discrimination III. Ethnic and Cultural Awareness A. Personal Cultural Competence and Action Plan IV. Conclusion V. Reference Annotated Bibliography Aiken, Jane H. (2007). Striving to Teach “Justice, Fairness, and Morality”. Clinical Law Review, 5, pp 1-67. This article discusses justice means giving each person what he or she deserves or, in more traditional terms, giving each person his or her due. Justice and fairness are closely related terms that are often today used interchangeably. Brownell, K., & Puhl, R. (2004). Stigma and discrimination in weight management and obesity. The Permanenie Journal, 7 (3), pp. 21-23. This articles discuss clear discrimination against overweight people has been documented in three areas: education, health care, and employment. The reason for this appears to be very strong anti-fat attitudes. Constantine, M., Hage, S., Kindaichi, M., & Bryant, R. (2005). Social justice and multicultural issues: Implications for the practice and training of counselors and counseling psychologists. Journal of Counseling & Development, 75., pp. 34-39. This article...
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...When one enters the counseling field one needs to understand that becoming a counselor is not just about listening to individuals that have mild problems. At times there will be circumstances in which a counselor will have to intervene in a crisis situation. It is important for a counselor to understand what a crisis situation is and what the first steps are in the response process of such situations. James and Gilliland (2013) indicate that it is important for counselor to be calm, collective, and obtain control over the crisis situation. When the counselor is calm, it will help calm the individual in the crisis situation. Furthermore, counselors should have the ability to think quickly in highly demanding situations that have the tendency...
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...When a counselor has a bias and goes into the session with their assumptions, it is not beneficial for the counseling relationship. It may be difficult to build a trusting relationship with a person who believes that you are angry or lazy. They are not getting to know who you are or even gathering a correct understanding of why you came. The client may feel disconnected from the counselor and begin to believe this service will not work for them. When trying to figure out the presenting problem they may not ask the right questions or even care to. The counselor may contribute your problems to the assumption they have made and believed about your culture. I believe that being in this situation could also confirm a counselors biases if they have not dealt with them. A counselor should strive to have a collaborative relationship when there are differences...
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