An exploration of factors contributing to multicultural counseling self-efficacy in addiction counselors

A non-experimental, correlational survey design was used to explore relationships between counselor recovery status, training, and counselor demographic variables on multicultural counseling self-efficacy in addiction counselors (N = 283) using the Multicultural Counseling Self-Efficacy – Racial Diversity Form. A multiple-indicators and multiple-causes model analysis indicated significant differences based on race, multicultural education, and CACREP program attendance on multicultural counseling self-efficacy. Implications from this study and recommendations for future research are discussed.     

Models of genetic counseling and their effects on multicultural genetic counseling

This theoretical paper examines challenges to multicultural genetic counseling, counseling between culturally different clients and counselors, in the context of Kessler's typology of models of genetic counseling (Kessler S (1997) J Genet Counsel 6:287–295). It is suggested that challenges such as resistance to multicultural genetic counseling education may be due to conceptions about genetic counseling as a biomedical field that transcends questions of culture as well as lack of multicultural training or prejudice. Directions for future research and recommendations for multicultural genetic counseling education are briefly explored.     

Counselor Bilingual Ability,Counselor Ethnicity,Acculturation, and Mexican Americans' Perceived Counselor Credibility

This study examined the effects of counselor bilingual ability and counselor ethnicity on client‐perceived counselor credibility and cultural competence. Participants were assigned to 1 of 4 treatment conditions created by crossing counselor ethnicity with counselor language. No significant differences were found. Regarding rank ordering of the conditions, the European American bilingual counselor was perceived to be more culturally competent than were the Mexican American bilingual counselors. Findings underscore the importance of bilingualism for European American counselors when working with bilingual Mexican American clients.     

A Preliminary Longitudinal Study of Multicultural Competence in Counselor Education

The purpose of this study was to investigate longitudinal changes in master’s-level counselor trainees’ (N = 78) self-perceptions of their multicultural counseling competence over the course of their counseling program. Multilevel modeling results indicated an increase in scores across 3 time points. The authors discuss study limitations and how counselors and counselor educators can incorporate the study’s findings into their practice and into the education and supervision of counselor trainees.     

Multicultural Counseling Instruction: A Challenge for Faculties in the 21st Century

Publicly, most counselors and therapists subscribe to the notion that there is a need and rationale for a multicultural perspective to better serve the culturally different. Professionals in many counselor education programs, however, have only superficially addressed this issue. In this article we describe some of the challenges facing faculties in the 21st century and why counselor training programs must be more assertive in addressing cultural competency issues as they relate to counseling theories, practice, and research. Strategies are provided that may be used in program and curricula development. La mayoría de consejeros y terapéutas subscribirían públicamente la idea de que hay una necisidad y una razón fundemental para la perspectiva multicultural para asistir mejor a los que son diferentes culturalmente hablando. Sin embargo, muchos programas de consejería solamente se dirigen superficialmente a este asunto. En este artículo se describen algunos de los desafios a los que las facultades se enfrentarán en el siglo XXI y porque los programas de entrenamiento de consejeros tienen que ser más agresivos al referirse a los asuntos de competencia cultural en relación con las teorías, la práctica, y las investigaciones de consejería. Se dan estrategias que se pueden utilizar en el desarrollo de programas.     

Religious Diversity From a Jewish Perspective

The exploration of spiritual and religious diversity may receive less attention in counselor education than is warranted, resulting in counselors who are unprepared to deal with spiritual and religious issues in counseling. This trend could have a negative impact on Jewish clients, as well as on other religious clients, who feel that issues related to their identity are ignored. The Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (2001) has recognized that religious diversity is an integral component of the multicultural counseling movement, but counselor education and training programs, as a whole, still need to embrace this standard.     

The Relationship Between Multicultural Counseling Training and the Evaluation of Culturally Sensitive and Culturally Insensitive Counselors

In a study, multicultural counseling training contributed significantly to the variance in ratings of a culturally sensitive counselor. No significant contribution was made to the variance in ratings of the culturally insensitive counselor. Possible explanations and implications of these results in multicultural counseling supervision are discussed.     

Assessing Multicultural Competence in Counselor Trainees: A Review of Instrumentation and Future Directions

As the diversity within the U.S. population continues to increase, multicultural counseling competency (MCC) remains a central focus in counselor education and research. Accordingly, assessment of competencies is necessary to ensure culturally appropriate counseling services to an increasingly diverse clientele. This article discusses available tools for evaluating counselors' awareness, knowledge, and skills for working with culturally diverse clients, as well as new directions and trends in MCC assessment.     

Reflections on a Multicultural Internship Experience

During the 1986–1987 academic year, the author worked as a predoctoral intern in a multicultural counseling training program. In this article the author shares his reflections on the internship and provides potential trainees with a vicarious experience of the following important challenges encountered in multicultural counseling: (a) addressing the fears involved in crossing cultural boundaries, (b) learning about and working with ethnic-minority groups, (c) developing culturally appropriate counseling skills, and (d) confronting ethnocentrism. As a case study in multicultural training, this article supports the training models of Pedersen (1988) and Sue, Akutsu, and Higashi (1985). Implications of the author's experiences for counselor training are discussed. Durante el año académico 1986–1987 el autor trabajó como interno predoctoral en un programa de entrenamiento de consejería multicultural. En este artículo el autor comparte sus reflexiones del internado y describe a los potenciales practicantes los importantes desafíos que se pueden encontrar en la consejería multicultural: (a) los miedos que hay en cruzar fronteras culturales; (b) trabajar con grupos de minorias étnicas y aprender de ellos; (c) el desarrollo de habilidades de consejería culturalmente apropiados; y (d) el enfrentarse al etnocentrismo. Este articulo, como un caso de estudio en entrenamiento multicultural, sostiene los modelos de entrenamiento de Pedersen (1988) y Sue, Akutsu, y Higashi (1985). Se discuten las implicaciones de las experiencias del autor para el entrenamiento de consejeros.     

Teaching Genomic Counseling: Preparing the Genetic Counseling Workforce for the Genomic Era

Genetic counselors have a long-standing history of working on the clinical forefront of implementing new genetic technology. Genomic sequencing is no exception. The rapid advancement of genomic sequencing technologies, including but not limited to next generation sequencing approaches, across all subspecialties of genetic counseling mandates attention to genetic counselor training at both the graduate and continuing education levels. The current era provides a tremendous opportunity for counselors to become actively involved in making genomics more accessible, engaging the population in decisions to undergo sequencing and effectively translating genomic information to promote health and well-being. In this commentary, we explore reasons why genomic sequencing warrants particular consideration and put forward strategies for training program curricula and continuing education programs to meet this need.     

Using Photography to Enhance Development of Self,Professional Identity,and Multicultural Awareness

Counseling can be a vulnerable process for clients and counselors alike. Counselors-in-training often find their early development to be an ambiguous and anxiety-provoking process. Both metaphors and experiential activities are effective methods in counselor training for addressing the ambiguity of counseling and the concerns experienced by counseling students. This article describes how counselor educators can use photography as a metaphor to support counselor development. We also outline four creative photography activities designed to foster self-reflection, professional identity development, and multicultural awareness among counselors-in-training.     

Addressing Privilege and Oppression in Counselor Training and Practice: A Qualitative Analysis

This qualitative study explored how 16 counselors conceptualize and address issues of privilege and oppression in the counseling session as well as how they perceive their training with respect to these constructs. In an effort to bridge multicultural training and counselor practice, implications for counselor training are provided based on the clinical and academic experiences counselors reported. Additionally, future research directions are included.     

VISION: A Model of Culture for Counselors

Current and popular views of multiculturalism emphasize between-group differences attributable to race and ethnicity with little appreciation of within-group differences, the individuality of each person's phenomenal field, or an individual's capacity to participate in different groups. VISION is a model of culture that accounts for within-group and between-group differences, the disappearance of groups, and the emergence of new ones. VISION has program applications pertinent to counselor education in the areas of mental health counseling and in modeling the multicultural training of counselors. A paradigmatic shift from a group level of abstraction to the individual is commonly contemplated among cultural anthropologists, but the need for this shift is illustrated in a counseling context.     

Using a Values‐Based Taxonomy in Counselor Education

Values such as respect for the client's privacy and respect for diversity are integral to training new counselors. This requires learning in the affective domain, defined as the internalization of values ( Krathwohl, Bloom, & Masia, 1964 ). The affective taxonomy of Krathwohl et al. (1964) is presented as a means of teaching values and measuring the internalization of values. An example from a multicultural counseling course is offered as a template for implications in counselor education.     

Culturally educated questioning: Toward a skills-based approach in multicultural counselor training

Increased resources are being committed to the multicultural training of counselors. Despite these gains, training continues to focus almost exclusively on the acquisition of cultural awareness and culture-specific knowledge. Valuable though they are, awareness and knowledge, the authors argue, do not necessarily result in effective multicultural counseling skill. Therefore, it is recommended that current training models be modified to include techniques through which cultural knowledge can be synthesized into effective counseling interventions. Specifically, it is suggested that programs stress the need to conduct cultural assessments of clients using what the authors term “culturally educated questioning”: empirically rooted inquiry designed to elicit from clients clinically relevant cultural data. The benefits of culturally educated questioning, including its safeguards against cultural stereotyping, are discussed.     

Using Popular Film to Teach Multicultural Counseling: A Constructivist Approach

The use of popular film as an experiential teaching tool in multicultural counselor education has been well documented. However, existing research has been limited. The purpose of this study is to implement a unique pedagogic intervention using popular films and to study how counseling students experience the activity as part of their multicultural counseling training. The researchers utilized the popular films Crash and Precious to stimulate student dialogue and reflection on topics pertaining to race, culture, privilege, and social justice. The findings indicate that popular films, when implemented in conjunction with reflective learning activities, are effective in promoting students’ multicultural and social justice counseling competencies. Participants reported that the pedagogic activity was effective in bringing to life the multicultural course concepts and stimulating difficult but necessary conversations about race, ethnicity, privilege, and power. Finally, implications of this study could further inform the field of multicultural counselor education.     

Perceived Multicultural Counseling Competence of Malaysian Counselors: An Exploratory Study

This study investigated the nature and extent of perceived multicultural counseling competence (MCC) of 508 professional counselors in Malaysia using a national survey approach. Differences in counselors' perceived MCC pertaining to gender, ethnicity, highest education, and multicultural training were examined. Results revealed 5 factors as constituents of MCC and significant differences in perceived MCCs due to ethnicity, highest education, and participation in multicultural training. Implications for future research, counselor education, and counseling practice are discussed. Este estudio investigó la naturaleza y la extensión de la competencia en consejería multicultural (MCC, por sus siglas en inglés) percibida de 508 consejeros profesionales en Malasia usando un enfoque de encuesta nacional. Se examinaron las diferencias en la MCC percibida de los consejeros respecto a sexo, etnicidad, nivel máximo de educación y capacitación multicultural. Los resultados revelaron 5 factores constituyentes de MCC y diferencias significativas en las MCC debido a etnicidad, nivel máximo de educación y participación en capacitación multicultural. Se discuten las implicaciones para investigaciones futuras, educación de consejeros y práctica de la consejería.     

The Experience of Genetic Counselors Working with Patients Facing the Decision of Pregnancy Termination after 24 Weeks Gestation

Prenatal genetic counselors are health care professionals who counsel women making reproductive decisions which include decisions such as terminating pregnancies due to fetal anomalies. Little is known about the experiences and practices of prenatal genetic counselors working with women who have the option of termination after 24 weeks gestation. In this national survey of 168 genetic counselors who have practiced prenatal genetic counseling, we asked about their general practice patterns, including indications for which termination is offered and types of abortion care services that are coordinated by genetic counselors. We report respondents’ self-assessments of level of understanding of federal abortion law and abortion procedures. Seventy-six percent of respondents have offered and counseled on termination after 24 weeks and 93% of respondents believe it is the responsibility of the counselor to discuss this option with patients. However, one-third report that they have some or no understanding of the procedures and three-quarters report that they have some or no understanding of federal abortion law. The results of this study provide insight into knowledge and experiences of genetic counselors working with these patients, allowing for improved genetic counselor training and continuing education to provide better guidance and develop more effective means of assisting patients.     

An Exploration of Genetic Counselors’ Needs and Experiences with Prenatal Chromosomal Microarray Testing

Because of the higher yield over traditional chromosomal analysis, chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) is being used increasingly in prenatal diagnosis. Unfortunately, the clinical implication of many copy number variants found on prenatal CMA is uncertain, complicating genetic counseling. Recognizing that uncertain results will be encountered frequently as more of the genome is assayed prenatally, we set out to understand the experiences and needs of genetic counselors when counseling patients about uncertain prenatal microarray results, their comfort with various aspects of prenatal genetic counseling, and their interest in additional education and training about prenatal microarray testing. We first interviewed 10 genetic counselors about their experiences of providing pre- and post-test genetic counseling about prenatal CMA. Based on the findings from the counselor interviews, we developed items for a survey to assess the prevalence of genetic counselors’ attitudes towards, experience and comfort with, and educational needs regarding prenatal CMA. Based on surveys completed by 193 prenatal genetic counselors, we found that when there is an uncertain CMA result, only 59 % would be comfortable providing genetic counseling and only 43 % would be comfortable helping a patient make a decision about pregnancy termination. Being less comfortable was associated with seeing fewer patients having prenatal CMA testing. Respondents expressed a high degree of interest in additional education about prenatal CMA and counseling about uncertain results. Further genetic counselor education and training aimed at improving counselors’ personal comfort with uncertain results and communicating about them with patients is needed.     

Toward Training for Competence in Multicultural Counselor Education

This article reviews the literature on multicultural counselor education. Counselor training models from social-organizational and counseling psychology are reviewed in terms of their focus on sensitizing counselors to cultural difference. It is recommended that counselor training programs place more emphasis on assessment of counselors' cultural values and attitudes, the therapeutic relationship between counselors, and clients' and counselors' application of cultural knowledge in counseling sessions. Este artículo revisa la literatura sobre la educación de consejeros multi-culturales. Se revisan los modelos de entrenamiento de consejeros sacados de la psicología social/organizational y consejerial en términos de su enfoque en la sensibilización de consejeros a las diferencias culturales. Se recomienda que los programas de entrenamiento de consejeros pongan más énfasis en la estimación de los valores y actitudes culturales de los consejeros, la relacion terapéutica entre consejeros y clientes, y la aplicación del conocimiento cultural por el consejero en las sesiones de consejería.