MULTICULTURAL COUNSELING: A Review of Literature

The purpose of this paper is to provide a broad overview of multicultural counseling as it applies to the counseling of Latinos in general and Puerto Ricans in particular. The review begins with a definition of multicultural counseling and a brief historical review of the development of the multicultural approach.

This discussion is followed by an examination of the cultural characteristics of Latinos and Puerto Ricans. Research illustrating counseling intervention with Puerto Ricans and Latinos is then reviewed in an effort to demonstrate current multicultural counseling practices used for these populations. The review ends with an examination of the directions multicultural counseling for Hispanics might take in the future.

Multicultural Counseling: Definition and Historical Overview

Peterson and Nisenholz (1994) have noted that the United States is a culturally pluralistic society which is to say that it is a society where individual ethnic/racial groups often maintain their own cultural uniqueness even though they share many common elements of the dominant American culture. According to the authors, multicultural counseling refers to the delivery of counseling services provided within the context of appreciation for the variety of racial/ethnic/cultural groups in United States society, their similarities and differences, and the contributions t

. . .
panic student. In this regard, Borda (1994) has noted that multicultural counseling as it applies to the at-risk student is an important element of counseling intervention. However, in order to understanding this component, it is necessary to understand the experiences of the at-risk Hispanic student in both regular and alternative schools. Borda's study, accordingly, examined Hispanic at-risk students' perceptions of their experience in regular and alternative schools. All of the students in the study were referred to an alternative middle school program by the regular school system because of their at-risk-of-dropping-out behavior. The qualitative research explored possible factors contributing to the students' at-risk behavior, their reason(s) for having requested the annexation of ninth grade to the alternative program, and their desire to remain as students in the alternative setting. To provide answers to these central issues, the following research questions were addressed: (1) What could be happening in this alternative school for its students to want to remain attending ninth grade, despite their successful graduation from this school's eighth grade and while being "unmotivated" to attend ninth grade in a regul
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Puerto Rican, Anglos WASPS, Puerto Ricans, Delivery Educational, Pedersen Marsella, Rico Data, Mexican American/Chicano, Peterson Nisenholz, Paz DeBlassie, Arredondo-Dowd Gonsalves, multicultural counseling, puerto rican, puerto ricans, counseling services, dissertation abstracts, abstracts international, dissertation abstracts international, school adjustment, hispanic students, child sex abuse, et al, puerto rican culture, atkinson et, atkinson et al, future multicultural counseling,
Approximate Word count = 7113
Approximate Pages = 28 (250 words per page)

More Essays on MULTICULTURAL COUNSELING: A Review of Literature