YEDITEPE UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF EDUCATION
PSYCHOLOGICAL COUNSELING & GUIDANCE
DEPARTMENT
ED 336
COUNSELING THEORIES
FOCUS PAPER
THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN UNIVERSAL, CULTURE SPECIFIC AND INDIVIDUAL ASPECTS IN COUNSELING
BURCIN HASANOGLU
INST. ARZU SOYSAL
2012 SPRING
Introduction
I believe that counseling should be for everyone without
disregarding people's individual and culture specific differences. No
matter how important it seems, there was not enough either literature
or graduate training programs addressing the need to develop
multicultural awareness,
knowledge, and skills before the early 1970s
(Sue, 1992). The most recent surveys, to be published shortly (Hills &
Strozier, in press, as cited in Sue, 1992) revealed that 89% of
counseling psychology programs now offer a multiculturally focused
course. However, these surveys fail to give us any indication about
their integration in the overall counseling curriculum, the
multicultural perspective of the courses, and the degree of commitment
by the department to multicultural issues (Sue, 1992). So what we can
draw from this information is, in reality, most counselors do not have
enough practical experience in training, or in their daily lives, with
racial and ethnic minorities.
My aim to prepare this paper is, first, to define the word
"counseling" in a broad sense, second, to give some information about
diverse aspects of counseling that covers multicultural and individual
differences, third, to mention the factors included in the definition
of multicultural competence in counseling, fourth, to define
multiculturalism and individual differences in counseling and, fifth,
to talk about application of multiculturalism into counseling
situaition and conclude my paper with my own ideas about this topic.
Definitions of Different Aspects in Counseling Work: Multiculturalism
and Individual Differences
As stated at Cazenova College's website (n.d) counseling is a
conversational process that can be instrumental in the development of
skills that help people effectively confront and cope with
uncertainties and conflicts. Counseling is divided into two kinds
which are indivual and group counselings. They both aim to help people
with some points in their life such as learning to make better
decisions, improving one's relationships, generally increasing
personal effectiveness and understanding feelings, and changing
problem behaviors with the support of peers with similar concerns.
Considering in a broad sense it is explicit to see that any person can
seek for help in aformentioned points in their life. When we say
"anyone" we talk about people who also can be "individually" and
"culturally" different. For that reason, counseling work entails great
effort to recognize culture specific and individual "differences".
Collins and Arthur (2010) introduce a conceptual model for
culture-infused counselling that is a model for multicultural
competence. American Psychological Association [APA], (2002) states
that awareness of one's own personal culture and awareness of client
culture is consistently identified as foundational to multicultural
counselling competence. Collins and Arthur (2010) also amalgamate a
number of models to posit some factors as central to personal
cultural identity which apply to both the counsellor and the client in
any counselling interaction.
Cultural factors represent the group affiliations held by
individuals, including
age, gender, ethnicity, physical and mental ability, sexual
orientation, religion,
language, and social class (Collins and Arthur, 2010). The focus at
this level is on between-group or intercultural differences (Ho, 1995
as cited in Collins and Arthur, 2010).
Personal identity factors include idiosyncratic experiences,
genetic make-up, developmental paths, socialization, and so on
(Dana,1998 as cited in Collins and Arthur, 2010). Collins and Arthur
(2010) include in this dimension factors such as education, marital
status, and work experience that are unique to the particular
individual. At this level, attention is focused on within-group or
intracultural differences (Ho, 1995 as cited in Collins and Arthur,
2010).
Contextual factors refer to the historical, social, political,
environmental, or economic contexts in which individuals live and
these factors can have a significant impact on personal experiences,
worldview, and values (Collins and Arthur, 2010).
Universal factors include those elements of experience that are
common to everyone and, to some degree, set human beings apart from
other forms of life, including self-awareness, ability to use symbols,
and psychological or biological similarities (Sue, 2001 as cited in
Collins and Arthur, 2010). At this level we are reminded that ''all
individuals are, in some respects, like all other individuals'' (Sue,
2001, p. 793 as cited in Collins and Arthur, 2010), our common shared
humanity .
The Concept of Multiculturalism in Counseling Work
Multiculturalism has been defined as the fourth force in
psychology, one which complements the psychodynamic, behavioral and
humanistic explanations of human behavior (Locke, 1993). One of the
most important debates within the field has to do with how this
definition relates to specific groups within the context of a culture
(Locke, 1993). Pedersen's definition (1991 as cited in Locke, 1993)
leads to the inclusion of a large number of variables, e.g., age, sex,
place of residence, education, socioeconomic factors, affiliations,
nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, making multiculturalism
generic to all counseling relationships. So, in a more detailed way we
can say that multiculturalism accepts the existence of many points of
view, none of which are considered good or bad, correct or incorrect;
it involves social constructionism, in that people construct their
worlds through social processes (historical, cultural and social
experiences) which contain cultural symbols and metaphors;it is
contextualistic in that conduct can only be understood within the
context in which it takes place and this challenges the psychological
and counseling theories that arise out of a specific cultural context;
it offers different approaches to the world because each perspective
captures a different, valid approach; it defends a relational sense
for language rather than just a representational one, because language
has a high correlation with culture and the perception of reality and
the relational approach allows truths and realities to be seen beyond
western scientific traditions (Repetto, 2001).
The Concept of Providing Service For Indıvidually Different People in
Counseling Work
One of the important points for counselors to keep in their mind
in their counseling work is to recognize the aspects of having
individually different clients. There is always the danger of
stereotyping clients and of confusing other influences, especially
race and socioeconomic status, with cultural influences
(Bolton-Brownlee, 1987). The most obvious danger in counseling is to
oversimplify the client's social system by emphasizing the most
obvious aspects of their background (Pedersen, 1986 as cited in
Bolton-Brownlee, 1987). While universal categories are necessary to
understand human experience, losing sight of specific individual
factors would lead to ethical violations (Ibrahim, 1985 as cited in
Bolton-Brownlee, 1987). A pluralistic counselor considers all facets
of the client's personal history, family history, and social and
cultural orientation (Arcinega and Newlou, 1981 as cited in
Bolton-Brownlee, 1987). Counselors must view the identity and
development of culturally diverse people in terms of multiple,
interactive factors, rather than a strictly cultural framework
(Romero, 1985 as cited in Bolton-Brownlee, 1987). Even though ethnic
groups may share the physical characteristics of race, they may not
necessarily share the value and belief structures of a common culture
(Katz, 1985 as cited in Bolton-Brownlee, 1987). For that reason we can
conclude that counselors are required to be wary in that aspect.
Application of Multiculturalism into Counseling Situation
As cited in Aluede and Maliki (2005) it is important for the
counselor to understand and respect useful modes of coping and
treatment that are native to specific groups and groups in different
environments, the cultural relativity of the adjustment process and
the world view of different population groups, and to carefully
examine the appropriateness of counseling practices in multicultural
situations and how to work more effectively in a multicultural
society, moreover it is essential for counselors to review their own
cultural biases as well as the cultural biases of their clients. To be
successful as a multicultural counselor it is necessary for the
counselor should avoid defining reality according to one set of
cultural assumptions and stereotypes, which become more important than
the real world; becoming insensitive to cultural variations among
individuals and assuming that view is the only real or legitimate
one; having the unreasoned assumptions, which are accepted without
proof and which protected without regard to rationality; having a
technique-oriented-job consideration which contributes toward and
preserves the encapsulation; having the idea of when there is no
evaluation of other viewpoints, then there is no responsibility to
accommodate or interpret the behaviour of others except from the view
point of self-reference criterion (Axelson, 1993;Pedersen and Ivey,
1994 as cited in Aluede and Maliki 2005). In short, we can also say
that the encapsulated counsellor is trapped in one way of thinking
that resists adaptation and rejects alternatives, which should be
avoided by counsellors in a multicultural society (Axelson,1993 as
cited in Aluede and Maliki, 2005). According to Aluede and Maliki
(2005) Multicultural counselling does provide a valuable metaphor for
understanding others and ourselves. It is no longer possible for
counsellors to ignore their own culture or the culture of their
clients (Pedersen, 1991 as cited in Aluede and Maliki 2005). In
conclusion it is crucial to highlight that the counsellor who is
knowledgeable in diverse culture will be able to accurately assess the
person's changing behaviour (Aluede and Maliki, 2005). The same
culturally learned behaviour may have different meaning for different
people even for the same person across times and situations (Pedersen,
1988 as cited in Aluede and Maliki, 2005) and all the counselor should
do is to try to understand these behaviors and welcome the clients
without ignoring this diversity which will help them enrich themselves
in their professions.
Conclusion
This part of my paper involves my personal ideas about
differences between universal, culture specific and individual aspects
in counseling. As I aforementioned by giving references from different
resources, I believe that multiculturalism is not well-treated by some
current counselors or institutions or there are not much literature or
researches in this aspect. I believe that this has nothing to do with
the prospective counselors but the curriculum of the schools are to
blame which should provide their students with a better understanding
the existence of multiculturalism in their job in the college courses.
I believe that there are as many counseling method as the number of
the people in this world. No matter how many "normal" people there
are, we all are the part of being multiculturalism and we are
different from each other in some ways. For that reason being
culturally or individually different is/are not something to refrain
for counselors but a good opportunity of relishing the prospect of
providing people, who are having different backgrounds, with
counseling service and enriching themselves with this experience and
empathizing themselves with this unique diversity.
References
Aluede , O. and Maliki, A.(2005). The Imperativeness of
Multiculturalism to Counselling Practice in Nigeria .Retrieved May 1,
2012 from http://www.krepublishers.com/02-Journals/T%20&%20T/T%20&%20T-03-0-000-000-2005-Web/T%20&%20T-03-2-000-000-2005-Abst-PDF/T%20&%20T-03-2-117-121-2005-061-Aluede-Oyaziwo/T%20&%20T-03-2-117-121-2005-061-Aluede-Oyaziwo-Full-Text.pdf
Bolton-Brownlee, Ann. (1987). Issues in Multicultural Counseling.
Highlights: An ERIC/CAPS Digest. Retrieved May 1, 2012 from
http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-925/issues.htm
Collins, S. & Arthur, N. (2010). Culture-infused counselling: A model
for developing multicultural competence. Counselling
PsychologyQuarterly, 23(2), 217-233. Retrieved May 1, 2012 from
http://web.ebscohost.com.lproxy.yeditepe.edu.tr/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=5&hid=126&sid=f41d42ec-795e-4d3d-90fa-27ca90d8b2b5%40sessionmgr112
Locke, Don C. (1993). Multicultural Counseling.Retrieved May 1, 2012
from http://www.ericdigests.org/1993/counseling.htm
Repetto E. (2001).Cross-Cultural Counseling: Problem and
Prospects.Retrieved May 1, 2012 from
http://www.scielo.org.ar/pdf/orisoc/v3/en_v3a02.pdf
Sue, D. J. (1992). Multicultural Counseling Competencies and
Standards: A Call to the Profession. Journal Of Counseling &
Development, 70(4), 477. Retrieved May 1, 2012 from
http://ehis.ebscohost.com.lproxy.yeditepe.edu.tr/eds/detail?sid=bfc0b925-a217-4d0d-b7e1-09144b3e0aaf%40sessionmgr15&vid=4&hid=2&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#db=f6h&AN=9206290424
What is Counseling.(n.d.) Retrieved May 1, 2012 from
http://www.cazenovia.edu/default.aspx?tabid=461
http://www.jogtheweb.com/run/yoTGCIrxTSqx/Core-Standards#
http://www.baatn.org.uk/Resources/Documents/MULTICULTURAL_COUNSELING_FROM_DIVERSITY_TO_UNIVERSALITY.pdf
I believe that counseling should be for everyone without
disregarding people's individual and culture specific differences. No
matter how important it seems, there was not enough either literature
or graduate training programs addressing the need to develop
multicultural awareness,
knowledge, and skills before the early 1970s
(Sue, 1992). The most recent surveys, to be published shortly (Hills &
Strozier, in press, as cited in Sue, 1992) revealed that 89% of
counseling psychology programs now offer a multiculturally focused
course. However, these surveys fail to give us any indication about
their integration in the overall counseling curriculum, the
multicultural perspective of the courses, and the degree of commitment
by the department to multicultural issues (Sue, 1992). So what we can
draw from this information is, in reality, most counselors do not have
enough practical experience in training, or in their daily lives, with
racial and ethnic minorities.
My aim to prepare this paper is, first, to define the word
"counseling" in a broad sense, second, to give some information about
diverse aspects of counseling that covers multicultural and individual
differences, third, to mention the factors included in the definition
of multicultural competence in counseling, fourth, to define
multiculturalism and individual differences in counseling and, fifth,
to talk about application of multiculturalism into counseling
situaition and conclude my paper with my own ideas about this topic.
Definitions of Different Aspects in Counseling Work: Multiculturalism
and Individual Differences
As stated at Cazenova College's website (n.d) counseling is a
conversational process that can be instrumental in the development of
skills that help people effectively confront and cope with
uncertainties and conflicts. Counseling is divided into two kinds
which are indivual and group counselings. They both aim to help people
with some points in their life such as learning to make better
decisions, improving one's relationships, generally increasing
personal effectiveness and understanding feelings, and changing
problem behaviors with the support of peers with similar concerns.
Considering in a broad sense it is explicit to see that any person can
seek for help in aformentioned points in their life. When we say
"anyone" we talk about people who also can be "individually" and
"culturally" different. For that reason, counseling work entails great
effort to recognize culture specific and individual "differences".
Collins and Arthur (2010) introduce a conceptual model for
culture-infused counselling that is a model for multicultural
competence. American Psychological Association [APA], (2002) states
that awareness of one's own personal culture and awareness of client
culture is consistently identified as foundational to multicultural
counselling competence. Collins and Arthur (2010) also amalgamate a
number of models to posit some factors as central to personal
cultural identity which apply to both the counsellor and the client in
any counselling interaction.
Cultural factors represent the group affiliations held by
individuals, including
age, gender, ethnicity, physical and mental ability, sexual
orientation, religion,
language, and social class (Collins and Arthur, 2010). The focus at
this level is on between-group or intercultural differences (Ho, 1995
as cited in Collins and Arthur, 2010).
Personal identity factors include idiosyncratic experiences,
genetic make-up, developmental paths, socialization, and so on
(Dana,1998 as cited in Collins and Arthur, 2010). Collins and Arthur
(2010) include in this dimension factors such as education, marital
status, and work experience that are unique to the particular
individual. At this level, attention is focused on within-group or
intracultural differences (Ho, 1995 as cited in Collins and Arthur,
2010).
Contextual factors refer to the historical, social, political,
environmental, or economic contexts in which individuals live and
these factors can have a significant impact on personal experiences,
worldview, and values (Collins and Arthur, 2010).
Universal factors include those elements of experience that are
common to everyone and, to some degree, set human beings apart from
other forms of life, including self-awareness, ability to use symbols,
and psychological or biological similarities (Sue, 2001 as cited in
Collins and Arthur, 2010). At this level we are reminded that ''all
individuals are, in some respects, like all other individuals'' (Sue,
2001, p. 793 as cited in Collins and Arthur, 2010), our common shared
humanity .
The Concept of Multiculturalism in Counseling Work
Multiculturalism has been defined as the fourth force in
psychology, one which complements the psychodynamic, behavioral and
humanistic explanations of human behavior (Locke, 1993). One of the
most important debates within the field has to do with how this
definition relates to specific groups within the context of a culture
(Locke, 1993). Pedersen's definition (1991 as cited in Locke, 1993)
leads to the inclusion of a large number of variables, e.g., age, sex,
place of residence, education, socioeconomic factors, affiliations,
nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, making multiculturalism
generic to all counseling relationships. So, in a more detailed way we
can say that multiculturalism accepts the existence of many points of
view, none of which are considered good or bad, correct or incorrect;
it involves social constructionism, in that people construct their
worlds through social processes (historical, cultural and social
experiences) which contain cultural symbols and metaphors;it is
contextualistic in that conduct can only be understood within the
context in which it takes place and this challenges the psychological
and counseling theories that arise out of a specific cultural context;
it offers different approaches to the world because each perspective
captures a different, valid approach; it defends a relational sense
for language rather than just a representational one, because language
has a high correlation with culture and the perception of reality and
the relational approach allows truths and realities to be seen beyond
western scientific traditions (Repetto, 2001).
The Concept of Providing Service For Indıvidually Different People in
Counseling Work
One of the important points for counselors to keep in their mind
in their counseling work is to recognize the aspects of having
individually different clients. There is always the danger of
stereotyping clients and of confusing other influences, especially
race and socioeconomic status, with cultural influences
(Bolton-Brownlee, 1987). The most obvious danger in counseling is to
oversimplify the client's social system by emphasizing the most
obvious aspects of their background (Pedersen, 1986 as cited in
Bolton-Brownlee, 1987). While universal categories are necessary to
understand human experience, losing sight of specific individual
factors would lead to ethical violations (Ibrahim, 1985 as cited in
Bolton-Brownlee, 1987). A pluralistic counselor considers all facets
of the client's personal history, family history, and social and
cultural orientation (Arcinega and Newlou, 1981 as cited in
Bolton-Brownlee, 1987). Counselors must view the identity and
development of culturally diverse people in terms of multiple,
interactive factors, rather than a strictly cultural framework
(Romero, 1985 as cited in Bolton-Brownlee, 1987). Even though ethnic
groups may share the physical characteristics of race, they may not
necessarily share the value and belief structures of a common culture
(Katz, 1985 as cited in Bolton-Brownlee, 1987). For that reason we can
conclude that counselors are required to be wary in that aspect.
Application of Multiculturalism into Counseling Situation
As cited in Aluede and Maliki (2005) it is important for the
counselor to understand and respect useful modes of coping and
treatment that are native to specific groups and groups in different
environments, the cultural relativity of the adjustment process and
the world view of different population groups, and to carefully
examine the appropriateness of counseling practices in multicultural
situations and how to work more effectively in a multicultural
society, moreover it is essential for counselors to review their own
cultural biases as well as the cultural biases of their clients. To be
successful as a multicultural counselor it is necessary for the
counselor should avoid defining reality according to one set of
cultural assumptions and stereotypes, which become more important than
the real world; becoming insensitive to cultural variations among
individuals and assuming that view is the only real or legitimate
one; having the unreasoned assumptions, which are accepted without
proof and which protected without regard to rationality; having a
technique-oriented-job consideration which contributes toward and
preserves the encapsulation; having the idea of when there is no
evaluation of other viewpoints, then there is no responsibility to
accommodate or interpret the behaviour of others except from the view
point of self-reference criterion (Axelson, 1993;Pedersen and Ivey,
1994 as cited in Aluede and Maliki 2005). In short, we can also say
that the encapsulated counsellor is trapped in one way of thinking
that resists adaptation and rejects alternatives, which should be
avoided by counsellors in a multicultural society (Axelson,1993 as
cited in Aluede and Maliki, 2005). According to Aluede and Maliki
(2005) Multicultural counselling does provide a valuable metaphor for
understanding others and ourselves. It is no longer possible for
counsellors to ignore their own culture or the culture of their
clients (Pedersen, 1991 as cited in Aluede and Maliki 2005). In
conclusion it is crucial to highlight that the counsellor who is
knowledgeable in diverse culture will be able to accurately assess the
person's changing behaviour (Aluede and Maliki, 2005). The same
culturally learned behaviour may have different meaning for different
people even for the same person across times and situations (Pedersen,
1988 as cited in Aluede and Maliki, 2005) and all the counselor should
do is to try to understand these behaviors and welcome the clients
without ignoring this diversity which will help them enrich themselves
in their professions.
Conclusion
This part of my paper involves my personal ideas about
differences between universal, culture specific and individual aspects
in counseling. As I aforementioned by giving references from different
resources, I believe that multiculturalism is not well-treated by some
current counselors or institutions or there are not much literature or
researches in this aspect. I believe that this has nothing to do with
the prospective counselors but the curriculum of the schools are to
blame which should provide their students with a better understanding
the existence of multiculturalism in their job in the college courses.
I believe that there are as many counseling method as the number of
the people in this world. No matter how many "normal" people there
are, we all are the part of being multiculturalism and we are
different from each other in some ways. For that reason being
culturally or individually different is/are not something to refrain
for counselors but a good opportunity of relishing the prospect of
providing people, who are having different backgrounds, with
counseling service and enriching themselves with this experience and
empathizing themselves with this unique diversity.
References
Aluede , O. and Maliki, A.(2005). The Imperativeness of
Multiculturalism to Counselling Practice in Nigeria .Retrieved May 1,
2012 from http://www.krepublishers.com/02-Journals/T%20&%20T/T%20&%20T-03-0-000-000-2005-Web/T%20&%20T-03-2-000-000-2005-Abst-PDF/T%20&%20T-03-2-117-121-2005-061-Aluede-Oyaziwo/T%20&%20T-03-2-117-121-2005-061-Aluede-Oyaziwo-Full-Text.pdf
Bolton-Brownlee, Ann. (1987). Issues in Multicultural Counseling.
Highlights: An ERIC/CAPS Digest. Retrieved May 1, 2012 from
http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-925/issues.htm
Collins, S. & Arthur, N. (2010). Culture-infused counselling: A model
for developing multicultural competence. Counselling
PsychologyQuarterly, 23(2), 217-233. Retrieved May 1, 2012 from
http://web.ebscohost.com.lproxy.yeditepe.edu.tr/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=5&hid=126&sid=f41d42ec-795e-4d3d-90fa-27ca90d8b2b5%40sessionmgr112
Locke, Don C. (1993). Multicultural Counseling.Retrieved May 1, 2012
from http://www.ericdigests.org/1993/counseling.htm
Repetto E. (2001).Cross-Cultural Counseling: Problem and
Prospects.Retrieved May 1, 2012 from
http://www.scielo.org.ar/pdf/orisoc/v3/en_v3a02.pdf
Sue, D. J. (1992). Multicultural Counseling Competencies and
Standards: A Call to the Profession. Journal Of Counseling &
Development, 70(4), 477. Retrieved May 1, 2012 from
http://ehis.ebscohost.com.lproxy.yeditepe.edu.tr/eds/detail?sid=bfc0b925-a217-4d0d-b7e1-09144b3e0aaf%40sessionmgr15&vid=4&hid=2&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#db=f6h&AN=9206290424
What is Counseling.(n.d.) Retrieved May 1, 2012 from
http://www.cazenovia.edu/default.aspx?tabid=461
http://www.jogtheweb.com/run/yoTGCIrxTSqx/Core-Standards#
http://www.baatn.org.uk/Resources/Documents/MULTICULTURAL_COUNSELING_FROM_DIVERSITY_TO_UNIVERSALITY.pdf
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