Exploring Social and Cultural Diversity in Counseling Practices

This essay delves into the multifaceted realm of social and cultural diversity within the context of counseling. It begins by exploring the author's personal biases stemming from their religious background and how these biases might impact their approach to counseling, particularly regarding the LGBTQ+ community. The essay then reflects on personal experiences with discrimination and how the author's cultural background influenced their responses. It examines memories of interactions with individuals from different cultural backgrounds, highlighting the challenges and lessons learned. Furthermore, the essay defines subtle racism and provides an example, followed by an analysis of the reasons behind differences in perceptions and values within the same ethnic group. The discussion extends to the application of ACA and NAADAC codes of ethics in counseling practice, emphasizing the importance of cultural sensitivity in treatment planning. The essay also compares communication styles and help-seeking behaviors across cultures, and outlines strategies for building rapport in a culturally sensitive manner. It explores the underlying causes of differential treatment methods and suggests resources for becoming a more informed counselor regarding cultural diversity. Finally, the essay concludes with lessons learned and a commitment to building cultural sensitivity in counseling practice.

Running Head: SOCIAL AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY 1
Social and Cultural Diversity
Name
Institution

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Personal biases and how they may impact your counselling approach
I was brought up in a Christian family and up to date, I rely on the Bible for guidance.
My Christian background influence my thoughts, insights, opinion, viewpoints, and how I relate
and communicate with people. The Bible teaches that marriage is a holy union between a man
and woman. For this reason, I have bias against Lesbians, Gays, Bisexual, and Transgender
(LGBT) family. This has affected my profession as counsellor because I find it so hard to interact
with such people since I consider them sinners.
Personal Experience with discrimination and it was impacted by cultural background
In one of companies I worked for, i was among few Christians among Muslims. Even
when I qualified for a promotion, I could not get it simply because most competitors were
Muslims and the CEO favored them. I remember there is a time my salary was not paid on time
but my Muslim colleagues were paid on time. The supervisor made a few Christian workers and
I work over time without pay. As a Christian, I was taught to be patient. This made me pull
through the experiences even though they caused me pain. My patience and hard work helped me
a great since my colleagues got to accept me with time.
Memories of contact with those who were culturally different that you, and your
experiences associated with these differences
As a Christian, i hold on to the ideology that the LGBT community are sinners and their
relationships are against the will of God. In my profession as a counsellor, I always try to advice
my patients to act according to the Biblical teachings. I was once faced with a case of Lesbian
who came into the office dressed in a very short dress. Interacting with her was quite different
considering her dressing code in my opinion portrayed a person without morals. Moreover, the
fact that the patient was a lesbian, she was against the Bible teachings. However, the Bible

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teaches that everyone is equal and should be treated as such. I patiently interacted with the client
and was able to identify and solve her problem.
Having faced discrimination earlier, I have learned to treat everyone equal. Regardless of a
person’s culture, region or race he/she can add value into your life in a way. I always try learning
from others and helping people regardless of who they are.
Subtle Racist definition and an example
According to Reid and Foels (2010), a subtle racist also known as an undercover racist is
a person has insinuated racial or hurtful opinions about other cultures. This is a type of racial
discrimination. Since the behaviors of a subtle racist are indirect, this form of racism is classified
as indefinite. Such racist could express their bias through attitude. The subtle racists are always
after causing harm to a person from a different cultural background. As an example, a white
supervisor may complain over everything a black employee does and even make the employee
repeat most of his tasks for no apparent reason. Even though the supervisor finds something to
complain about and mistreat the black employee, that is just a cover up. The hate is derived from
the fact that the employee is black.
Why could there be difference in perceptions and values of members within the same ethnic
group
People from the same ethnic group have different values and perception due to different
religious doctrines, geographical regions, their commitment level to their customs, socio-
economic status (Matsumoto, Yoo, & Nakagawa, 2008). These factors have great impacts on
how people from the same ethnic group perceive things. For instance, an African American of
the Northern part of United States may have different opinion with an African American from the
Southern part of United States. This is because these two people have been brought up in two

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different environments. Racial slurs are quite common in South than North. A person’s opinions
and views are shaped by geographical background. People’s backgrounds and the opportunities
offered shape people’s viewpoint greatly. This implies that a person’s expectations and values are
influence by wealth and socio economic status. For instance, children from wealthy families
expect to join a higher education institution, but children from poor background do not expect it.
How ACA and NAADAC Codes of Ethics Will Inform Your Practice
The ACA and NAADAC codes will provide guidelines that will inform my practice as a
counsellor. The NAADAC ethical code refers to the accepted guidelines that govern the
professionals that deal with addiction (Miller et al, 2010). The purpose of the American
Counselling Association (ACA) is to improve life in the society by advocating for the cultivation
of professional counsellors, enhancing the profession, and utilizing the profession to enhance the
diversity and dignity of humans (Ponton & Duba, 2009). The ethical codes involve advising
counsellors, interns, and professionals about their ethical standards, responsibilities and
accountabilities to their clients. These guidelines enable the counsellors to take the right action to
help clients and it also provides standards that can be used to make inquests and grievances to
the ACA associates.
Specific ACA and NAADA multicultural codes
According to Ponton and Duba (2009), the ACA ethics code necessitates counsellors to
communicate with their clients in a culturally sensitive manner. In the discussion of issues
concerning informed consent, counsellors are required to use a language that is clear and
understandable. Whenever clients do not understand the language used by the counselor, the
counsellor should explain well to the clients to ensure that they comprehend the information.
Counsellors should work together with the clients to ensure that the cultural impacts informed

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consent strategies are well understood and counsellors should be able adjust their practices when
necessary. Generally, counsellors should do their best to ensure that they are culturally
competent. They should be able to communicate using a language that the client understands or
can be easily translated. According to Miller et al (2010), the NAADA ethics codes provides a
number of qualities that every counsellor should use as guide. They include obedience, justice,
competence, autonomy, stewardship, conscientious refusal, honesty, gratitude, beneficence,
discretion, diligence, loyalty, fidelity, self-interest, restitution, non-malfeasance, and self-
improvement.
Importance of Cultural Sensitivity in Treatment Planning
Cultural sensitivity involves understanding the cultural background of a client.
Counsellors incorporate cultural sensitivity in their profession to appreciate differences in
stances, values, and opinions of various clients (Buchtel, 2014). Considering the fact that the
nation is extremely diverse today, cultural sensitivity is crucial while dealing from different
cultural backgrounds. Cultural sensitivity helps in improving health outcome. Having a
counsellor who respects the cultural background of a client builds trust which is essential in
counselling profession. Cultural sensitivity also helps counsellors in pointing out the exact
problem and dealing with it appropriately. Cultural sensitivity also enhances the competence of a
counsellor.
How do Communication Styles and Help-Seeking Behaviors differ Across Cultures?
Different cultures have different communication styles. Both verbal and non-verbal
communication styles are different depending on the culture (Lee, 2014). The verbal
communication uses words, tones, and sounds. People from different cultural background may
interpret words differently. Misunderstanding are always there even without language barrier.

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Nonverbal communication includes facial expression, body movements and other expression.
People could derive their own meaning of a facial expression. For instance, in some cultures it is
normal to point at someone using your index finger but in other cultures the same act is
offensive. Counsellors should be able to understand these cues to avoid misinterpretation.
Moreover, this understanding helps counsellors avoid opinions and words that could induce
misinterpretation and develop a culturally diverse language that suits all people. People express
their emotions differently and therefore their help-seeking behaviors are different. Some cultures
believe that asking for help shows weakness. Other cultures believe that counselling help is
sought by crazy people only. In other cultures, it is okay to share a problem and ask for
counselling. Counsellor should consider this when dealing with people from different cultures
from their own.
How Strategies to Build Rapport Differentiated in View of Culture
The strategies for building a rapport should be specific depending on the client.
Counsellors have an obligation to obtain information about the cultural background of your
client in order to understand how to handle that particular client (Lee, 2014). As an example,
some cultures prohibit looking into someone’s eyes directly but in other cultures, looking direct
into someone’s eyes while the person is speaking shows that you are attentive. In essence,
understanding the customs of a culture is basic when building rapport.
Underlying reasons for differential treatment methods
Misinterpretation of information is one of the causes of differential treatment methods.
According to Pedersen, Crethar and Carlson (2008), different people have different usage of
words, sounds, tones, facial expressions, body movements etc. Considering that people have
different stances, opinions, and standpoints, people could easily misinterpret information leading

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to differential treatment. Moreover, different people express poor communication styles which
may be linked to discrimination thus causing differential treatment. Another reason for
differential treatment is cultural diversity. Some people are able to understand their language
only. Moreover, some people have never interacted with people from different cultural
backgrounds. Dialects from some cultures include a single word with many meanings and this
may cause differential treatment. The only language that can be utilized universally is the non-
verbal communication. A counsellor could potentially exhibit racial discrimination from verbal
communication.
Resources that could help in becoming a more informed counsellor regarding cultural
diversity
There are various articles about cultural stereotypes, racism, drug abuse among various
cultural groups that could help in becoming a more informed and culturally competent counsellor
(Collins & Arthur, 2010), (Maher, 2018), (Lewis, Dana & Blevins, 2014). In my opinion, it
would be good to make enquiries about a client’s cultural background in order to understand the
client better by studying his/her background. This is very crucial as it makes the client feel that
you care for him/her and its them trust you. To dispel my personal bias against the LGBT
community, I could focus more on understanding my clients for who they are rather than
focusing on their relationships and beliefs.
Lessons Learned
One of the lessons I have learned is that cultural background is a significant part people
and it affects their lives in various ways. Secondly, people originate from different cultural
environments. We must learn to tolerate each other regardless of the race, ethnicity, and religion.
societal stereotypes and personal bias should not be used to judge anyone. In my profession as a

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counsellor I will do my best to perceive people for they really rather than what they are, what
they do or even their religious background. I work hard on building my cultural sensitivity so
that I can be able to accommodate and help all my clients. I will try developing multicultural
communication method to ensure that my words or actions are not misinterpreted by clients from
different cultural background from mine.

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References
Buchtel, E. E. (2014). Cultural sensitivity or cultural stereotyping? Positive and negative effects
of a cultural psychology class. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 39, 40-52.
Collins, S., & Arthur, N. (2010). Culture-infused counselling: A model for developing
multicultural competence. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 23(2), 217-233.
Lee, C. C. (Ed.). (2014). Multicultural issues in counseling: New approaches to diversity. John
Wiley & Sons.
Lewis, J. A., Dana, R. Q., & Blevins, G. A. (2014). Substance abuse counseling. Cengage
Learning.
Maher, M. J. (2018). Racism and Cultural Diversity: Cultivating Racial Harmony Through
Counselling, Group Analysis, and Psychotherapy. Routledge.
Matsumoto, D., Yoo, S. H., & Nakagawa, S. (2008). Culture, emotion regulation, and
adjustment. Journal of personality and social psychology, 94(6), 925.
Miller, G., Scarborough, J., Clark, C., Leonard, J. C., & Keziah, T. B. (2010). The need for
national credentialing standards for addiction counselors. Journal of Addictions &
Offender Counseling, 30(2), 50-57.
Pedersen, P. B., Crethar, H. C., & Carlson, J. (2008). Inclusive cultural empathy: Making
relationships central in counseling and psychotherapy. American Psychological
Association.
Ponton, R. F., & Duba, J. D. (2009). The ACA Code of Ethics: Articulating counseling's
professional covenant. Journal of Counseling & Development, 87(1), 117-121.
Reid, L. D., & Foels, R. (2010). Cognitive complexity and the perception of subtle racism. Basic
and Applied Social Psychology, 32(4), 291-301.

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