Generally speaking, within the practice of counseling,
race, ethnic groups, or cultural groups should not cause a counselor to have to
make drastic, or even semi-drastic, changes to the way they conduct a
counseling session. There are differing schemas that can provide mental images
in which to "fit" someone into a specific category based on their culture
and/or racial backgrounds. This is something, one might guess, that everyone
does when they come into contact with someone different from themselves to any
large degree.
Biblically speaking, God's Word is very clear on the
classification of His created beings, "God created man in His own image,
in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them"
(Genesis 1:27, NASB). Prior to this verse we find that the Bible opens with
these words, "In the beginning, God" (Genesis 1:1, NASB). This should
make clear that the starting point for any discussion of the philosophy of
counseling people from diverse groups must be "In the beginning,
God." To focus on the opening chapter of Genesis must be paramount to the
person who sits in the counselor's chair.
Technically speaking, for behavior to change there must be
a change in how one thinks. Faulty thinking, from a CBT point of view, is the
root of most problems that arise in someone's life. Albeit, there are
developmental issues that can arise, but they too seem to be best corrected by
changing how someone thinks. The almost default setting is to help someone
reframe how they perceive an issue in order to develop a proper context for the
issue. As someone better understands how their own view of the problem might be
skewed, they are then better able to control the context of their thinking and
develop a more correct frame of reference.
Culturally speaking, there is no doubt that being raised
in the south as a fourth generation Texan/Native American/German American/English
American there could very well be some bias toward those that are different
culturally and ethnically. That means controlling stereotypes is possibly one
of the biggest obstacles that needs to be faced. To overcome this hurdle, one
must make efforts to understand the client's worldview. There is a need to have
knowledge of what influences the client's ideas and behaviors. With the
knowledge there should be change in the way the client is viewed. Changing a
stereotype is tough, but it can be done using what some call the bookkeeping
model which simply means that as a counselor develops new insight into
contradictory information they begin to incrementally change and adapt their
presuppositions about the client.
References
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968,
1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.
TJ
