Counselling in a Diverse Society

4006 Words17 Pages
Counselling in a diverse society 1. Understand issues which affect counselling in a multi-cultural society. 1.1 Using examples, evaluate the relevance of the following in the counselling process. • Stereotyping. • Language issues. • Different belief systems. • Family structures. • Family life experiences. Stereotyping Stereotyping comes from assumptions and knowledge developed towards a particular person or group of people. Eleftheriadou (1994) suggests “It is where a person can believe that just because people are members of a particular visible group; they must (by that fact) also share particular traits which you think are characteristics of that group”. For example meeting a person who is in a wheelchair and heavily reliant on support can lead to the assumption that every disabled person needs a high level support. Counsellors need to acknowledge, understand and accept the client’s cultural background. Although clients share certain characteristics with a group attention should be paid to the individual’s experience of their difference not to carry preconceived ideas about them. For example not to assume all Indian client lives in a large expended family or all immigrants don’t work. From a client view point resistance may exist initially towards a counsellor who does not share their culture such as race, religion or gender. A Japanese businessman may, for instance, view a female counsellor as sub servant. A client past relationships may impact on the age or gender of their preferred counsellor as it may remind them of someone in a positive or negative manner. Rogers (1961) suggested “a counsellor should feel and convey genuine caring, sensitivity and non-judgemental understanding in a non-directive manner towards client. Allowing the client to tell their own story” Within multicultural counselling this must be conducted in a non-stereotyping
Open Document