Role of Consultation and Advocacy

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Strategies to Address Multicultural Issues

A counselor’s greatest approach would be to block out of your own worldview of different cultures (Thomas J., 2014). This is a challenge essential in all aspects of counseling, as counselors reliably work to employ both our compassion for clients’ experiences and the understanding that their acuity of these experiences can immensely differ from the counselors view of the experiences (Thomas J., 2014). Counselors must take into account that most individuals will look for the easiest way to deal with life’s challenges to find understanding whenever it is conceivable (Thomas J., 2014). To think everyone will view certain experiences in the same way is a bad practice to fall into. Multicultural awareness is a training that is essential training for future professional counselors (Thomas J., 2014).

Conclusion

Consultation and advocacy is needed in order for a mental health counselor to be successful in their practice. One must know many factors about society, culture, and medical history in order to appropriately diagnose each problem. Careful attention and time is needed to do so.

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References

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Golden, A. G., Preston, R. A., Barnett, S. D., Llorente, M., Hamdan, K. and Silverman, M. A. (1999), Inappropriate Medication Prescribing in Homebound Older Adults. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 47: 948–953. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1999.tb01289.x

Moe, Perera-Diltz, and Sepulveda. (2010). Are Consultation and Social Justice Advocacy Similar? Exploring the Perceptions of Professional Counselors and Counseling Students. Journal for Social Action in Counseling and Psychology, 2(1), 106–123.

Owen, D. J. (2011). The role of assessment in mental healthcare counseling. In A.J. Palmo, W.J. Weikel, D.P. Borsos, A.J. Palmo, W.J. Weikel, D.P. Borsos (Eds.), Foundations of mental health counseling (4th ed.) (pp. 333-353). Springfield, IL, US: Charles C Thomas Publisher

Ponterotto & Suzuki . (2007). Handbook of Multicultural Assessment: Clinical, Psychological, and Educational Applications. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Thomas J. (2014). The Ethics of Supervision and Consultation: Practical Guidance for Mental Health Professionals. doi:978-123-7-4338-07