Multicultural Counseling Competencies

Abstract

In this thought-provoking and insightful book, ten psychologists, coW1selors, and educators have provided a ground-breaking study on multicultural counseling, a subject still fairly new to the field. Based on the work of Division 17 open meeting of the Committee of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity, 1982, the authors present guidelines for identifying monoculturalism and multiculturalism, proposing methods for achieving change at the individual, organizational, and professional levels. The authors argue that European-American traditions and research often focus on the impact of intrapsychic factors on human development, ignoring influences of culture. They further argue that psychologists, who are aware of and sensitive to other worldviews, should not only emphasize the knowledge of such worldviews but should also incorporate them into the psychotherapeutic process. Multicultural Counseling Competencies is a timely book that could be used as a guide for mental health professionals. Chapter 1 of the book presents a definition of "multiculturalism" and a working guideline upon which mental health professionals should base their knowledge, skills, and practice. Chapter 2 deals with "ethnocentric monoculturalism," providing historical background on the emergence and development of a Euro-American worldview and highlighting how mental health professionals subscribe to such a worldview without questioning its validity and applicability in a multicultural society. The profession's response to multiculturalism is the subject of the third chapter. This chapter identifies the "Seven Deadly Resistances" that are often ...