Ethical Practice in a Diverse World

Demographic trends are showing that minorities, biracial, multiethnic, and multiracial people are increasingly making up the US population. Psychology is currently struggling to incorporate human diversity into the theories, perspectives, methodologies, and practices of the field; nevertheless, it is imperative that counselors be well versed in working with a multicultural population. The culture-centered approach to counseling presumes that all counseling is multicultural. Both the client and the counselor’s behaviors are determined by culturally learned assumptions and understanding those assumptions accurately is essential for treatment to be effective. Discuss at least one culturally learned assumption you have about the world and address how you think it might impact your work with clients. It is imperative that all counselors be culturally competent, regardless of the counselor’s race or ethnicity, as all counseling is considered multicultural. The course readings thus far explain why it is important for counselors to be culturally competent in the work they do with others.