Culturally Responsive Counseling

In consideration of cultural counseling, social workers will provide interventions to help identify clients’ barriers and identify their family expectations and cultural assumptions that influence their life choices. This tie into helping the client identify ways and solutions when they want to go against their family or cultural expectations, but at the same time be respectful of the client’s overall cultural values and bring awareness to the client that their cultural values and racism may influence their aspirations. Afterwards, the social workers must counsel the client to encourage and promote

Latino Families in Therapy Second Edition was published in 2014. Celia Jeas Falicov who is a clinical psychologist, author and currently teaching at the University of California in San Diego wrote the book. As the main contributor of the book Celia’s goal is to help others understand the importance of being competent when working with Latino Families and acknowledging that because the families come from a different background than those giving the interventions we must find therapeutic approaches that will benefit the Latino community. Falicov gives great insight to the different Latino communities that we could encounter and successful evidence based practices that can be used such as a meeting place for culture and therapy (MECA).

Psychotherapy Presenting Concerns and Utilization Trends of Latino-American and International Latino Students in a University Counseling Center Every year, millions of young adults seek out higher education through full time attendance in a college or university setting (National Center for Education Statistics, 2013). The number of students who seek out higher education has increased in recent years, as half of the young adult population is enrolled in some type of college or university (Snyder & Dillow, 2012). However, with the increase of students attending college, the demand for accessible mental health services has grown. Students are showing a nine percent rate of utilization within college counseling centers, a number that has remained steady since 2004 (Kim, Park, La, Chang, & Zane, 2015; Gallagher, 2005).

According to the Rogers & Vismara article, while cultural factors may influence the course of detection, diagnosis, and treatment of autism spectrum disorders, child treatment programs for autism tend to lack cultural considerations. One strategy the authors mentioned to address this issue is to train researchers and service providers in cultural competence. What would be some of the essential components of effective cultural competency training that is uniquely catering to culturally diverse children with autism spectrum

This style of communication can be vastly different from middle-class Caucasians who communicate with a future pretense (1998). Culturally Relevant Interventions When working with Latino client, it’s important to remember that their world view may differ from the world view of the counselor. In order for treatment to be effective and successful counselors need to choice culturally relevant methods and interventions that are going to match the clients world views (Carlson & Carlson, 2000).

Counseling Services in Hispanic Culture The topic of culture used to be largely debated in the world of clinicians and psychologists, fortunately, this is now viewed as a fundamental competency (e.g., Vera & Speight 2003). The American Counseling Association is the largest association of professional counselors worldwide, they define counseling as “a collaborative effort between the counselor and client. Professional counselors help clients identify goals and potential solutions to problems which cause emotional turmoil; seek to improve communication and coping skills; strengthen self-esteem; and promote behavior change and optimal mental health”.

Mental health service and cultural competency play an important role in the enhancement of wellness and resilience of clients served. Multicultural competency and diversity continue to impact counselor education, training, theories and interventions. Counseling organizations must reflect cultural competency in many different ways in order to impact a wide range of clients. For this essay, Ms. Katherine Carter was interviewed. She is the director and a licensed Marriage & Family therapist at The Westminster Center.

As a woman of color, I believe it is essential that I become aware of my own biases in order to help individuals that have different beliefs, values, and cultural practices. When I was done completing the “Multicultural Counseling Competencies: A Self Examination” assessment, I became aware of my strengths, weaknesses, and areas where I need to grow as a future college counselor. To begin with, I notice that I questioned myself continuously whether I take the time to evaluate the limits of my competency when helping a student from a different cultural heritage from mine.

Unfortunately, ethnic minorities are identified as a population that is vulnerable to mental health disparities and face unique challenges (Holden et al., 2014). Researchers have come up with numerous factors that may have contributed

1.   According to the article, minority clients can often be misdiagnosed because the clinician lacks an understanding of the client 's culture.  The article points out that many of our counseling practices are "Eurocentric" and therefore problematic for minority clients. What does this mean and how might it effect Neesha during her own counseling experience?

Social contexts will become a more significant factor when the scope of treatment expands to include the client’s family and social circle. The client’s gender identity, ethnicity, culture, religious beliefs, and family history will determine what are appropriate referrals and treatment approaches. For example, recovery planning for a Latino woman should allow for her “personal growth and empowerment within a [Latino] cultural and family context” (Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), 2009) and referrals to community resources and case managers who specialize in the needs of the Latino community (CSAT, 2009), especially if she is a recent immigrant. Meanwhile, recovery planning for the African-American man should “adopt an Afrocentric perspective to provide a more culturally responsive treatment program” (CSAT, 2009) and include strategies that foster the client’s involvement in the community. When treating minority populations, there may be a greater need for experienced counselors with more developed cultural competence and self-awareness for the purposes of family therapy, which is an integral component of

The first is fostering appropriate counseling practices for people with diverse backgrounds and upbringings. Our local community has shown significant growth in recent years, and I believe utilizing proper counseling skills with a diverse clientele is crucial. Furthermore, I recognize the importance of intersectionality within the counseling profession, as individuals deserve to receive specific and personalized care. Correspondingly, I would appreciate the opportunity to work with Dr. Kenneth M. Coll and his devotion to counseling practices with youth populations who experience limited access to mental health resources due to economic disparities, rural isolation, etc. I am also interested in studying counseling practices regarding addiction prevention, treatment, and recovery.

Only 10% of the Latino and Hispanic population in the U.S. contacted a mental health care provider this past year. In order to reach this underserved community, counseling as a field has to work diligently to provide linguistically and culturally competent providers (National Alliance on Mental Illness, 2016). Recommended solution In order to increase the amount of bilingual counselors, more Spanish speaking individuals need to be encouraged to pursue advanced mental health care degrees (Trepal, et al., 2014). Counselors who want to offer bilingual services should pursue bilingual supervision, enroll in cultural classes, and seek training regarding bilingual therapy and counseling.

Although some rightfully argue that all counseling is cross-cultural, when working with clients who are from a different culture than one’s own, the schism is often great. Therefore, cross-cultural competence is a theme we will visit and revisit throughout this text, and I will offer a number of ways for you to lessen the gap between you and your client. One model that can help bridge the gap is D’Andrea and Daniela’s (2005) RESPECTFUL Counseling Model, which highlights ten factors that counselors should consider addressing with

this statement, it does not answer my question. The problem was not that the text on multicultural counseling failed to address me as an ‘ethnic’ minority or that my position was lost between the black and white, but rather, why we need to identify our selves on the basis of our ‘race’ or colour?. As I thought about my own childhood and origin, I realise that I was brought up with strong humanistic values, by both rational parents that were not ‘religious’. Although I am a Muslim and was brought up as one but with hen site I can see that I was brought up with a deeply developed conscious and inward teaching of Sufism which is the heart of Islam.