Title: 
Headings: AMCD Multicultural Counseling Competencies
AMCD
 
Multicultural
 
Counseling
 
Competencies
 

I.
 
Counselor
 
Awareness
 
of
 
Own
 
Cultural
 
Values
 
and
 
Biases
 

II.
 
Counselor
 
Awareness
 
of
 
Client's
 
Worldview
 

III.
 
Culturally
 
Appropriate
 
Intervention
 
Strategies
 


Content: Culturally
 
skilled
 
counselors
 
become
 
actively
 
involved
 
with
 
minority
 
individuals
 
outside
 
the
 
counseling
 
setting
 
(e.g.,
 
community
 
events,
 
social
 
and
 
political
 
functions,
 
celebrations,
 
friendships,
 
neighborhood
 
groups,
 
and
 
so
 
forth)
 
so
 
that
 
their
 
perspective
 
of
 
minorities
 
is
 
more
 
than
 
an
 
academic
 
or
 
helping
 
exercise. III. Culturally
 
Appropriate
 
Intervention
 
Strategies
 

 
Beliefs
 
and
 
Attitudes
 

 
Culturally
 
skilled
 
counselors
 
respect
 
clients'
 
religious
 
and/
 
or
 
spiritual
 
beliefs
 
and
 
values,
 
including
 
attributions
 
and
 
taboos,
 
because
 
they
 
affect
 
worldview,
 
psychosocial
 
functioning,
 
and
 
expressions
 
of
 
distress. Culturally
 
skilled
 
counselors
 
respect
 
indigenous
 
helping
 
practices
 
and
 
respect
 
help~iving
 
networks
 
among
 
communities
 
of
 
color. Culturally
 
skilled
 
counselors
 
value
 
bilingualism
 
and
 
do
 
not
 
view
 
another
 
language
 
as
 
an
 
impediment
 
to
 
counseling
 
(monolingualism
 
may
 
be
 
the
 
culprit). Knowledge
 

 
Culturally
 
skilled
 
counselors
 
have
 
a
 
clear
 
and
 
explicit
 
knowledge
 
and
 
understanding
 
of
 
the
 
generic
 
characteristics
 
of
 
counseling
 
and
 
therapy
 
(culture
 
bound,
 
class
 
bound,
 
and
 
monolingual)
 
and
 
how
 
they
 
may
 
clash
 
with
 
the
 
cultural
 
values
 
of
 
various
 
cultural
 
groups. Culturally
 
skilled
 
counselors
 
are
 
aware
 
of
 
institutional
 
barriers
 
that
 
prevent
 
minorities
 
from
 
using
 
mental
 
health
 
services. Culturally
 
skilled
 
counselors
 
have
 
knowledge
 
of
 
the
 
potential
 
bias
 
in
 
assessment
 
instruments
 
and
 
use
 
procedures
 
and
 
interpret
 
findings
 
keeping
 
in
 
mind
 
the
 
cultural
 
and
 
linguistic
 
characteristics
 
of
 
the
 
clients. Culturally
 
skilled
 
counselors
 
have
 
knowledge
 
of
 
family
 
structures,
 
hierarchies,
 
values,
 
and
 
beliefs
 
from
 
various
 
cultural
 
perspectives. They
 
are
 
knowledgeable
 
about
 
the
 
community
 
where
 
a
 
particular
 
cultural
 
group
 
may
 
reside
 
and
 
the
 
resources
 
in
 
the
 
community.