Multicultural Counseling

Definition

The term multicultural counseling refers to a philosophy, a set of guidelines and recommendations for conducting counseling with culturally different clients, and a group of distinct approaches to psychotherapy. In the narrowest definition of the term, multicultural counseling is an interaction between a counselor and a racially or ethnically different client. More broadly defined, this term includes differences in gender, sexual orientation, and physical ability. As a philosophy rather than a specific theory, multicultural counseling is often equated with a tripartite model that incorporates knowledge, awareness, and skills and derives from the work of Derald Wing Sue, Patricia Arredondo, and Roderick McDavis. Multicultural counseling competencies, an extension of this model, offer general suggestions for gaining knowledge, increasing awareness, and obtaining skills for effective and ethical ...