Cultural Diversity in Counseling

Cultural Diversity in Counseling

Cultural diversity is an important aspect of psychological counseling. Cultural diversity refers to the various cultural makeup of a region, individual, or organization. According to Gopalkrishnan (2018), cultural diversity has an impact on an individual’s psychological status. As a result, counselors should embrace cultural competency for better management of their clients. Essentially, different groups have different cultures across the world. In psychology, counselors are expected to uphold multiculturalism to support their client’s uniqueness and dignity (Sue, 2019). As a professional counselor, I would have an interest in understanding different cultures and learning to handle clients from various cultural backgrounds. I would ensure each client who walks in for counseling services feels appreciated and respected, irrespective of their cultural background. I would give the clients a chance to do certain activities as per their culture. Additionally, I would ensure that no actions during the counseling service violate any client’s culture.

An example is a scenario where I come across a client who wants to involve family during the counseling sessions. In the Psychology profession, confidentiality is key and most professionals would always ensure the highest confidentiality by dealing with the clients individually and not involving other people (Vesal, 2019). However, certain cultures value family ties and discourage individualism at all costs. Should I ever come to such a client, I would grant the client permission to attend the sessions in the company of the family but still maintain a high level of confidentiality. This can be done by asking the client to be accompanied by one individual and likely next of kin who will take part in the healing process of the client. The client would be able to identify one person who can always accompany them during the sessions and also be able to help in making decisions regarding the client’s therapy.

References

Gopalkrishnan N. (2018). Cultural Diversity and Mental Health: Considerations for Policy and Practice. Frontiers in public health, 6, 179. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2018.00179

Sue, S. (2019). Integrating multiculturalism and intersectionality into the psychology curriculum: Strategies for instructors. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv1chrtgn

Vesal, M. (2019). Professional Ethics in the Field of Psychology and Counseling (take a look at Client’s Confidentiality and Privacy).

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Consider the following disposition: “Cultural Diversity – Counselors promote, honor, and embrace diversity and a multicultural approach that supports the worth, dignity, potential, and uniqueness of people within their social and cultural context. Counselors promote self-advocacy and assist clients in advocating for empowerment within their cultural context.” Please address the following components regarding cultural diversity in counseling:

Cultural Diversity in Counseling

Clearly explain how you would uphold the Cultural Diversity disposition as a professional counselor.
Provide a concrete example of what that looks like.
Provide scholarly support citing a minimum of one peer-reviewed research article and include APA (7th edition) formatted in-text citation(s) and corresponding reference(s).
150 to 200 words