Multicultural Competence In Counseling

When others think of diversity some think of individuals of different ethnicities. It is actually so much more than that. Being familiar with diversity and having multicultural competency is something that is needed in the helping profession. Learning about different cultures and different diverse groups increase chances of treatment of the client and interactions with the client as well.
The American Counseling Association Codes of Ethics tells us a few things about diversity and multicultural competence. Counselors are to treat clients to the best of their ability regardless of beliefs, race, values, and behaviors. Respect client’s views that differ from their own. Multicultural competency is required for all counselors to gain knowledge
I feel very strongly with Counselors Awareness of Own Cultural Values and Biases. Understanding the Clients Worldview is important for counselors as well. I feel strongly with Counselors Awareness of Own Cultural Values and Biases because counselors need to be aware of their own biases. I say this because if you grew up in predominately white neighborhood the only thing you may know about diverse individuals is from the news or was taught from their family how those individuals are. Counselors need to understand that their view which could consist of “personal beliefs of those different diverse groups could cause issue with treatment of their client. Counselors need to be aware of their own biases so that it does not affect them professionally. This is important because some do not want to be perceived as prejudiced and will continue to state they have no issue with anyone will unfortunately cause interaction issues with clients just because of being uncomfortable with someone. Others are scared of being labeled a racist or prejudiced person that some may refuse to admit when uncomfortable around someone. It is in the best interest of the client to admit when uncomfortable around differing
When I was younger, about elementary school aged I was told that we couldn’t be friends anymore because I was African American. When in middle school I was called a n***er. I have had incidents in school where I was the athlete because I was African American and honestly I liked sports but I definitely could have been better at them. It wasn’t perse discrimination or being stereotyped. At work (Aurora Health Care) you can tell not too many diverse individuals work there. I say this because lately there have been lots of shootings/killings of African Americans and the riots are because of the injustice. Coworkers seem very uneasy when mentioning these types of situations and almost made awkward when speaking of these situations that are