Multicultural Counselling

Introduction

The advance toward a multiracial, multicultural, and multilingual society (Sue, Arredondo & McDavis, 1992) invokes a new trend of multicultural counselling due to the nature of the issues raised between counsellor and client. As such, a counsellor has to be aware of his or her own values in relation towards cultural identity and human behaviour (Sue, Arredondo & McDavis, 1992).

Personality traits

According to LaHaye’s (1964) temperament theory, I have a predominantly melancholic disposition; an analytical and perfectionist nature. Introspective and thoughtful, I respond and listen to the needs of people with a certain amount of sensitivity and intuition. I enjoy humanitarian work and am passionate about motivating people to rise above their circumstances and achieve their inner potential. I employ strong principles of moral integrity and honesty, which I feel is integral to the trust between a counsellor and the client.

Interaction with different people

Sue, Arredondo and McDavis (1992) suggest that multicultural counseling would include not only racial and ethnic minorities, but also women, gays and lesbians, and other special populations.

Racial Differences

A Malaysian Chinese, I represent a minority race in Malaysia. I encounter race-based politics and government legislation from a country predisposed toward Malay culture and religion. According to Thompson and Neville in 1999 (as cited in McLeod, 2003), the issue of racism is a significant factor in counselling. However, there are strict policies involved through interaction with the Malays. In 2000, Al-Abdul Jabbar and Al-Issa (as cited in McLeod, 2003) proposed that non-Islamic counsellors working with Islamic clients need to be aware of the importance of religious and collective values for their clients. As such, it would be difficult to maintain a neutral position as a minority race, especially when counselling in a predominantly Muslim nation. However, I may be able to better relate to the common ethnic minority races in the world-- African Americans, American Indians, Asian Americans, and Hispanics and Latinos.

I interact with many foreigners from different countries through my education in Singapore. I have had students from various parts of Asia and Europe as my classmates. Hence I have some exposure toward multi-culturalism and tolerance between different races.

Gender and Sexual Orientation

I am from a conservative Asian country. We live in a community where exposure towards minority people with different sexual orientation is limited. In a strict and conservative culture, there is a common bias and stigma associated with sexual minority individuals— that these people are immoral, unnatural, and therefore