Career Counseling with Diverse and Multicultural Clients

571 Words3 Pages
Career Counseling with Diverse and Multicultural Clients Walden University Career Counseling with Diverse and Multicultural Clients Career counseling a client from a different cultural background is not the same as counseling someone from our own culture. One will find when counseling diverse clients there are many barriers faced by these individuals which must be addressed if one wishes to help these individual. Unfortunately, many counselors may be too afraid to try methods considered not traditional as a way to help these clients. For this assignment, I will discuss how diversity affects career counseling, factors that influence career development, and list any insights I have gained in counseling a diverse population. Issues Affecting Career Counseling Goals Clients from multicultural populations will be facing barriers, making it difficult for both the counselor and the client when attempting to set goals. In order for a counselor to set reachable goals for their clients, he or she must “view clients within the context of their environment, explore whether client problems are connected to oppressive, social, political, or economic conditions, move beyond the traditional models of helping” (Ratts & Santos, 2012, pg. 113). Going beyond what one has learned includes being an advocate for the client. As a client’s advocate, a counselor will be able to recognize how factors regarding the client’s “social, political, economic, and cultural background” (Ratts & Santos, 2012, pg. 118) influence the client’s career decision making process. Upon the counselor recognizing the barriers, he or she will be able to reach out to the community and its leaders for help in removing such barriers. Factors Affecting the Diverse Population Many different factors affect the diverse population such as “race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, economic class,

More about Career Counseling with Diverse and Multicultural Clients

Open Document