Through the Multicultural Counseling course and interview, I’ve learned to remain “positive self-regard in one’s own culture and positive attitudes toward the culture of others.”
Arredondo, Toporek, Brown & Jones, 1996). This manifests acceptance and respect for all cultures in our pluralistic society. When disclose the differences and similarities amongst cultures, we can develop an understanding and appreciation of the person we counsel. I’ve gained insight on how important the continual state of learning is. Every day the field of counseling is growth and counselors who remain updated on challenges their clients may encounter. As I work with multiple diverse clients, my knowledge base expands, but the learning doesn’t stop there. “Working in this area of professional counseling will continually provide you with opportunities to gain new insights and skills with each new client. Multicultural competent counselor is an active process, and that inaction perpetuates injustice rather than social justice” Arredondo, Toporek, Brown & Jones, 1996). So, self-awareness is the key to counseling because when working with people “Open-mindedness and validation provokes the need for social justice and speaking out against injustice is about affirming and confirming action, not about being right or wrong” (Cannon,