Multicultural Counseling Competencies
Ethical Practice
Patricia Arredondo
Rebecca Toporek
Read the article that’s enclosed concerning an ethical issue in counseling. And write a 1 page summary with APA reference.
The adoption of the Competencies is indicative of ethical and culturally responsive practices. Historical marginalization based on ethnic, racial, cultural, and socioeconomic differences and scientific racism have adversely affected the mental health professions and clients deserving of services. A rationale for the adoption of the Competencies is articulated based on existing research and cramp/es of application of the Competencies. Rebuttals are made to criticisms about the Competencies by Weinraclt and ‘l‘homas (2002). Viewing the Competencies as a living document indicates their future evolution as a set of culturally universal and culturally relative guidelines for the mental health professions.
Unfortunately, it is often easier to ignore, dismiss, reject, and even hurt one another rather than engage in constructive confrontation” (hooks, 2000, p viii). The sentiments of hell hooks, a feminist writer and multicultural advocate, are relevant to our invited response to Weinrach and Thomas (2002). We thank them for the opportunity to engage in respectful and candid discourse, and to write in support of the Competencies developed by the Association of Multicultural Counseling and Development (AMCD). For the record, there are 31 Competency statements and ‘119 Explanatory Statements articulated in the published document Operationalization of the Multicultural Counseling Competencies (Arredondo et al., 1996). The latter is an expansion of the first AMCD Competencies document (Sue, Arredondo, & McDavis, 1992), although the 31 statements remain the same. The focus in both documents is on interpersonal interactions, primarily through clinical practice, and less so on specifics of training, research, assessment and organizational development.
California, the ACA Governing Council endorsed the Competencies. At their annual convention, the APA Council of Representatives endorsed Multicultural Guidelines on Education and Training, Research, Practice and Organizational Developmentfor Psychologists (APA, 2002) creating new policy for its 160,000 members.
A national campaign to endorse the Competencies was initiated Fall 2002 (D’Andrea & Arredondo, 2002). The goals are to have 300 individual counseling professionals and 100 institutions or counseling bodies endorse the Competencies by 2005. In the first 3 months, more than 100 counselors and psychologists and l3 counselor training programs made an endorsement’l‘his means that the individuals and programs have committed to put the Competencies into practice within the purview of their role and responsibilities. Weinrach and Thomas (2002) may never endorse the Competencies; however, there are members of the Association of Mental Health Counselors among the more than loo professionals that have stepped forward. With both ACA and APA now endorsing the Competencies and Multicultural Guidelines respectively, we predict a groundswell of response from educators, researchers, and practitioners alike. Multicultural competency is becoming a way of life.
Multicultural competency measurement and scale development has been on going since the mid-198os It is recommended that there be
more consistency in the definition of constructs and their validity and the internal validity of the scales themselves.
Mental health professional advocacy and social justice are important aspects of counseling. Atkinson,Thompson, and Grant (1993) suggest that the extent to which the mental health professional addresses internal versus external attributions and interventions greatly depends on various personal dimensions of the client’s identity and context. New studies are needed to examine the utility of these different roles, the ethical and practical concerns of these variations on traditional practice, and the experience of clients working with mental health professionals who adapt their role depending on the client’s needs.
As a reflection of accreditation, there has been more standardization regarding the content and scope of training and practice. One of the reasons that accrediting bodies and ethical standards have been established is that of consistency. When graduates from accredited programs are interviewed for faculty or practice positions, accreditation ensures that standards of curriculum and coursework have been completed. With empirical studies, it may be possible to discern how graduates of multiculturally centered programs perform on licensing or other professional competency exams, where they gain employment, and how this may correspond to a program’s attention to multicultural competency development.
CONCLUDING REMARKS:
When a mental health professional joins a professional association, such as the American Mental Health Counselors Association or American Counseling Association, and agrees to abide by the organization’s code of ethics, it is assumed that the professional recognizes and acts in accordance with a publicly acknowledged set of standards. As with the above examples, having a common document addressing multicultural competence helps the mental health professions achieve greater sophistication in preparation and practice. In addition, it communicates to consumers and potential mental health providers that the professional community considers culture, in its many forms, as essential.
Corey, Corey, and Callanan (2003) identify 10 major mental health associations with their own code of ethics. Of these, five are affiliated with ACA. Meanwhile six ACA divisions and two divisions of the APA have endorsed the Competencies. More recently, at the annual conference in Anaheim.