Assignment 2: Cultural Pluralism

A counselor needs to be competent to work with clients from different cultures. However, there are times when cultural differences between the counselor and the client may influence the counseling relationship. For example, suppose a counselor promotes the cause of independence for all people (i.e., an individualistic culture) while the client’s culture values strong family and community cohesion (i.e., a collectivist culture). In this case, the client’s values are equivalent to dependency in the eyes of the counselor and can adversely influence counseling outcomes. However, if the counselor possesses the cultural competence necessary to work with the client, he or she is better equipped to manage this discrepancy. When situations such as these arise, the multiculturally competent counselor works from the client’s unique worldview, being aware of the needs of the client.