Chapter Two Admission Ticket

Sue, & Sue, 2013 page 38 state that “ Counselling and psychotherapy have done great harm to culturally diverse groups by invalidating their life experiences, by defining their cultural values or differences as deviant and pathological, by denying them culturally appropriate care and by imposing the values of a dominant culture.” 

This passage struck the mind of the reader by bringing out the importance of culture in counseling and physiotherapy. The writer shows how practitioners are biased and culturally insensitive against other peoples’ way of life while trying to develop a universal approach to dealing with diverse groups. Though arguments might be raised as to the diminishing role of culture in modern day due to technological advancement, differences still exist. Such differences need to be considered while developing counseling programs and therapies. Professionals in this field are not aware that their universal actions harm the minority groups who feel that such actions are intentional. Assumptions that one fit all programs can be developed and used to solve related issues are misplaced and misguided while lacking a clear understanding of the needs and wants of the diverse groups. A culture-sensitive counseling and psychotherapy should be able to accommodate all individuals irrespective of their gender, race, and status. It should take into account their life experiences and operate within the norms and values of the diverse groups. It should offer culturally appropriate care and accommodate all the cultures. Dominant cultures should not be used as baselines to carry out professional activities and using the same on minority groups. Professionals need to function in a multicultural manner and apply culturally specific approaches in their work. Similarly, our education system needs to develop practitioners who understand the importance of culture in their profession. It should be able to use different groups of people in clinical experiences to generate a comprehensive view of the practice from the narrow perspective. Lastly, we should not develop an ethnocentric perspective in counseling and therapy but work towards a multicultural approach that utilizes culture-distinct approaches in the healing process. 

Reference  

Sue, D. W., & Sue, D. (2013).  Counseling the Culturally Diverse: Theory and Practice  (6th ed.). Hobroken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons