Assessing and Promoting Cultural Relativism in Students of Counseling

Abstract

Multicultural counseling is often promoted as a core element in counselor development. As such, educational efforts aim to increase counselors' cultural relativism, or their ability to recognize their own enculturation and to appreciate the value of other cultural norms. This mixed qualitative-quantitative study explored the relationship between counselor and human service professional trainees' moral development levels and their cultural assumptions after they had experienced a course in cultural diversity. Four themes were noted: (i) reflexivity about culture, (ii) orientation toward activism and advocacy, (iii) differences in attitudes toward sexual orientation and religion, and (iv) increased alertness to culture. Implications for culturally alert practice are discussed.

Faith, Race, and LGB Affirmation: Experiences of African American Counselors‐in‐Training

“…Thus, it is incumbent on counselor educators to adhere to ethical mandates and be intentional about integrating in‐depth analyses of multicultural issues from orientation to graduation (Whitman & Bidell, ). In line with the literature (Burkholder & Dineen, ; Dillon, Worthington, Soth‐McNett, & Schwartz, ; McAuliffe, Grothaus, Jensen, & Michel, ; Minnix, ; Robertson & Avent, ; Whitman & Bidell, ), our participants noted that interpersonal experiences were helpful in promoting an understanding of LGB individuals. Counselor education programs can use guest speakers, immersion projects, role plays, and opportunities to counsel LGB clients in clinical courses to provide students with the interpersonal and emotional experiences necessary to understand LGB people in a new way (Minnix, ; Robertson & Avent, ).…”

“…Several of our participants explained that they knew they were supposed to separate their beliefs from their counseling, but they were unsure how to do so. Counselor educators and supervisors can help their students reduce bias while learning to empathize and engage in perspective taking by providing opportunities for interpersonal engagement (McAuliffe et al, ; Minnix, ; Whitman & Bidell, ) with LGB African Americans and allies (Robertson & Avent, ). Coming‐out stories from African Americans may promote a more complex understanding of sexual orientation while making the issue more interpersonally relevant.…”

African American Counselors‐in‐Training, the Black Church, and Lesbian‐, Gay‐, and Bisexual‐Affirmative Counseling: Considerations for Counselor Education Programs

“…For this type of professional development to occur, the conversation cannot begin and end with one lecture in a multicultural class. The process of becoming a professional counselor provides opportunities for reexamining one's values, incorporating new knowledge about human nature, and replacing inherited values with self‐authored ones (McAuliffe, Grothaus, Jensen, & Michel, ).…”

Recruitment Strategies to Optimize Participation by Diverse Populations

“…The importance of having a multicultural team is underappreciated and underutilized in current research practices (Thurman & Harrison, 2020). In fact, the lack of a multicultural team is a social and ethical issue (Mcauliffe, Grothaus, Jensen, & Michel, 2012). All cultures are a product of exposure to engaged mindsets and particular sets of circumstances concerning their environment.…”