D. W. Sue's 'Counseling The Culturally Different'

644 Words3 Pages
Module 4 Worksheet Shaelin Garvey Liberty University Module 4 Worksheet Practice 7.3 About 30 years ago, the multiculturalism movement began in the field of counseling. Early researchers claimed that ethnic groups other than white received a lower level of care than standard. Minority peoples utilize psychotherapy much less frequently per capita than whites. D.W. Sue released a book called Counseling the Culturally Different. This book was the predecessor of a big movement of research in multicultural counseling. He focused on certain minority groups but since his book was published, a movement toward focusing on various subcultures has sprouted. There are not a lot of publications on counseling outside the U.S. The overall conclusion…show more content…
Many people belong to more than one group and cannot be consolidated in to an easy one-size-fits-all counseling model. One must not deny, however, that some universalities do exist. One danger of lumping minorities on to easily defined groups is a matter of self-fulfilling prophesy. People tend to act out what is expected of them, thus reinforcing the stereotypes. Knowledge of ethnic differences alone does not help counselors be more effective. The knowledge must be turned in to actual tactics. If a counselor takes the over simplified information that minority groups prefer a more directive approach to counseling and puts that in to practice, they will be ultimately ineffective as a counselor because that is not what counseling is all about. Changing counseling practice to match the merely presumed needs of a group of clients should not mean abandoning good counseling work. When a counselor is too directive in attempt to fulfill the needs of the minority groups in such a way as to become more assertive and directive, they are watering down the principles of good counseling and will be ineffective because the client will not gain the ability to resolve their own
Open Document