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
 
understand
 
how
 
race,
 
culture,
 
ethnicity,
 
and
 
so
 
forth
 
may
 
affect
 
personality
 
formation,
 
vocational
 
choices,
 
manifestation
 
of
 
psychological
 
disorders,
 
help
 
seeking
 
behavior,
 
and
 
the
 
appropriateness
 
or
 
inappropriateness
 
of
 
counseling
 
approaches. Culturally
 
skilled
 
counselors
 
understand
 
and
 
have
 
knowledge
 
about
 
sociopolitical
 
influences
 
that
 
impinge
 
upon
 
the
 
life
 
of
 
racial
 
and
 
ethnic
 
minorities. Immigration
 
issues,
 
poverty,
 
racism,
 
stereotyping,
 
and
 
powerlessness
 
may
 
impact
 
self
 
esteem
 
and
 
self
 
concept
 
in
 
the
 
counseling
 
process. Skills
 

 
Culturally
 
skilled
 
counselors
 
should
 
familiarize
 
themselves
 
with
 
relevant
 
research
 
and
 
the
 
latest
 
findings
 
regarding
 
mental
 
health
 
and
 
mental
 
disorders
 
that
 
affect
 
various
 
ethnic
 
and
 
racial
 
groups. They
 
should
 
actively
 
seek
 
out
 
educational
 
experiences
 
that
 
enrich
 
their
 
knowledge,
 
understanding,
 
and
 
cross-cultural
 
skills
 
for
 
more
 
effective
 
counseling
 
behavior. 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).