Counseling and Development in a Multicultural Society
Six stages of cultural development affect personality expression. Survival (stage one) results in mutual dependence on others. Meeting basic economic needs (stage two) results in personal determinism with group membership. Satisfaction of economic needs and acquired wants (third stage) results in a shift from balance of spirit, mind, body, and environment toward individual power of mind and will over the environment with diminished group dependence. During the fourth stage, a person becomes self-contained with an overindulgence of acquired wants, which may result in imbalance and fragmentation. Stage five is the search for meaning, identity, and a family substitute, to overcome emptiness. A search for remedies (stage six) results in new balance of self, others, and the environment (pp. 9-10).
Multicultural counseling objectives include the study of issues that are faced by different groups of people and the examination of counseling practices and services for these groups. Cultural awareness is necessary for appropriate diagnosis and treatment and the identification of client strengths and needs. The counselor must understand cross-cultural situations to work effectively and appropriately in the counseling setting. Culture-based approaches are necessary to determine the appropriate counseling theory and practice for the unique needs of each individual and the demands of the society they live in. For example fears that may be irrational for one culture would real for another (pp. 12-13).
The separate course model of incorporating minority counseling into training, has the advantages of assuring topic coverage without total program evaluation and easy employment of experts in the area. However, it does not require total faculty commitment, it may be viewed as ancillary, and it may not be required for all students. The area of concentration model provides a con...