Title: 
Headings: 

Content: Cultural knowledge includes the counselor’s understanding and knowledge of other cultural groups’ behaviors, norms, beliefs, and attitudes. Both counselors and clients bring to counseling a set of cultural norms that have been reinforced for long periods of time. These norms then influence the way in which the counselor and client perceive their world, each other, and their approach to counseling. Counselors who are knowledgeable of their clients’ cultural preferences and norms are better equipped to make appropriate clinical decisions. For example, in some cultures, passivity rather than assertiveness is revered. A counselor adhering to the Western culture may have great difficulty understanding a Chinese client’s unwillingness to “demand” more from others. However, after learning more about the client’s culture, the counselor introduces counseling interventions that take into account Chinese cultural norms. When counselors lack knowledge of varying cultural groups, they will often rely on stereotypes to better understand clients from different cultural backgrounds. Stereotypes are often negative, based on faulty perceptions, and are of unspecified validity. Many argue, however, that some stereotypes or generalizations can be helpful in the process of learning to understand other cultures.