1. Standard 11
Ginny Mejia
Katina Jefferson

2. STANDARD 11
Human service professionals are knowledgeable about their
cultures and communities within which they practice. They
are aware of multiculturalism in society and its impact on
the community as well as individuals within the community.
They respect the cultures and beliefs of individuals and
groups.

3. Multicultural Duties of a Counselor
• Awareness of Own
Cultural Values and
Biases
• Understanding the
Client’s worldview
• Develop culturally
appropriate intervention
strategy and techniques
Respect
to
attitudes
and
beliefs
Knowing
particular
clients race,
culture and
ethnicity
Engage in
verbal and
nonverbal
responses

4. Case Vignette
An Asian couple has been referred to a counselor for marriage advice. The couple found that since arriving in the United
States, their cultural differences has caused problems in their relationship. In the first session, the husband seems quite
controlled and reserved, while the wife cries a lot but says little. The counselor has learned that in Asian cultures,
restraint of strong feelings is considered to be a sign of maturity, too much talking is viewed as impolite, and the husband
is usually the more dominant member of the couple. In some Asian cultures, it is believed that personal matters are best
discussed with a relative or friend. Self-disclosure to a counselor is considered a violation of family cultural values.
The counselor is a beginner in the area of multicultural differences, but has just completed some workshops in
multicultural counseling. The counselor proceeds to disclose her credentials and begins the process of an informed
consent.
A counselor who is culturally competent will therefore provide brief, task-oriented therapy that respects their privacy and
helps them achieve concrete goals, instead of providing traditional Western-style therapy that is more individualistic and
analytical.
The best way to help clients is to work within a collaborative relationship to discover options for coping and new
behavior that may also lead to specific tasks and solutions for change that are identified by the client.

5. 3 counseling tips for Asian Americans
Broaden your multicultural skills
Understand family values and communication styles of the Asian Americans
Learn methods for adapting counseling practices to fit the needs of Asian Americans

6. It is very important especially in multicultural counseling to treat each client as an individual person first. Then
being aware of possible differing values and beliefs according to culture, the counselor must ask questions to
find out exactly what the cultural differences are and how they impact on the client’s wellbeing. The main
objective of counseling should always be respect for the client. In this particular case, the counselor was
assuming the clients’ behavior was due to them being Asian.
In summary, in multicultural counseling, counselors need to be aware of their own values and belief system
and understand that there are differences in all cultures. They should become involved in self-exploratory
journey to help identify any potential blind spots.
Most importantly, counselors should develop a sense of interest, curiosity and respect when faced with a client
of different backgrounds.
Counselors should always strive to gain self-awareness and experience in all phases of counseling. It is
important for counselors to have regular professional education and supervision when dealing with
multicultural clients.