1. Multicultural Counselling What are your multicultural challenges? Part I

2. Why multicultural counselling? Counselling is a western concept –Based on western mentality –Requires language Counselling must be defined to the users –Not all have experience of counselling A multicultural society needs multicultural counselling and multicultural counsellors Cultural differences affects the counselling session

3. Multiculturalism thinking: awareness of differences and similarities among individuals from different cultures stresses the importance of family and cultural factors affecting the way clients view the world and make career decisions (not only interest) challenges practitioners to rethink the meaning and methods of counselling

4. Ethnicity Self reproductive – often inter-marry Share common origin and common heritage We are born into our ethnicity – biological – facial structure Examples: Swedish, French, Kurds, Indians

5. Culture Way of thinking, feeling and understanding ones environment Way of living – we are socialised in to What is wrong and right – values What is good and bad – traditions How and why we do things – attitudes

6. Four areas of values: Personal values: yours and mine, honesty, existential values Cultural values: faith, tradition, loyalty to own culture, relationship with those within same culture, family values Social values: relationship with those outside ones group Work related values: view of work, view of career

7. Migration Peoples physical movement over geographical boundaries Includes emigration and immigration –emigration = moving from –immigration = moving to Factors which make people migrate –pull factor – resourceful individuals –push factor – forced out

8. The effects of migration People lose the rolls and status they had prior to their migration People lose the ”mirrors” they had prior to their migration People lose momentum difficult to regain it Loyalty conflict will arise

9. Decision making factors Individual oriented Group oriented Own responsibility – free choiceCollective responsibility – other-oriented Interest-driven in career choicefamily and group expectations taken into consideration in career choice What do I wantWhat am I expected to do – what should I do? Secular outlook on lifeReligious outlook on life Pragmatic – what works, will doTraditional – the way we have always done it Rational – logicalBased on feeling – loyalty – guilt and shame

10. Groups of people (individuals) you find difficult to counsel

11. Multiculturall counselling What to think of and what to do Part II

12. Multicultural Counselling competencies Self knowledge –Personal values –Personal experiences –Awareness of ones own position (power) –Aware of own agendas Knowledge of the client –The clients experience –Expectations –Social network –Sources of validation Knowledge of the system/structure –Possibilities created by the system –Hindrances created by the system –Climate in the society –Political factors

13. Self-awareness What is my cultural heritage? What was the culture of my parents? With what cultural group(s) do I identify myself? What is the cultural relevance of my name? What values, beliefs, opinions and attitudes do I hold that are consistent with the dominant culture? Which are inconsistent? How did I learn these? How did I decide to become a practitioner? What do I understand to be the relationship between culture and counselling? What unique abilities, aspirations, expectations, and limitations do I have that might influence my relations with culturally diverse individuals?

14. A strong self-efficacy contributes towards: The individual's success in life The individual’s well being The individual’s willingness to take challenges and be more responsible to accomplish the challenges Releasing the individual’s energy

15. A poor self-efficacy contributes towards That the individual undermines his/her capacity That the individual gives up easily That the individual sets low goals and has low expectations and avoids challenges That the individual will be filled with anxiety

16. Significant source for self-validation Relationships – social platform Activities – usefulness Things – symbolic or practical Places – memories, belongingness Happenings – tradition Individual

17. Factors that contribute for ones success –Personal factors Own resources Competences Experiences –Social factors Network Significant others Family traditions –Structural factors Counselling Rules and regulations System Professional help

18. Competencies required: awareness of own assumptions, values and biases – self-awareness understanding the world view of the culturally different client developing appropriate intervention strategies and techniques

19. In a nutshell… Reflect over your own culture – cultural awareness Reflect over your own values about people from other cultures Be aware of not judging others from the point view of your own culture - ethnocentrism Be aware of major factors in what formulates culture (family, status, shame, honour, guilt) Be willing to learn from the other Make sure to define career counselling for those you counsel Identify other means (other than language and words) to counsel by Build on the individuals strengths Don't feel pity for the individual – show cultural empathy instead