position paper no 1

NUR IZZAH BT ZAHARI (0818444)

I do not agree with the statement that teaching cross cultural counseling to trainee counselors is a waste of time and we should focus on equipping them with the skills and competencies for being good counselors. But I do agree if teaching cross cultural counseling and provide with skills and competencies should interconnected in producing a good counselor. The reason for that statement are because they think that trainee counselors just only deal with people in Malaysia not to go to abroad without realized that we have multiracial population in Malaysia. Other than that, to give training to counselor, we must have ample time to produce a good counselor. But then, if we are too focusing on teaching cross cultural, others time that need to teach skills for counselor will not be enough. Last but not least, they think that cultural is not something that we need to learn. Cultural knowledge is just an acquired knowledge and we learn through observation and experiences not in wider educational scope.
To against that, as we know population in Malaysia grows more pluralistic and multiracial. By hook or by crook, counselors will be called to provide intervention and counseling to the client with different background. After the counselor can understand their client, then he will lead to start questioning and interviewing his client based on skill they have.
Beside that, teaching cross cultural counseling to trainee counselor is to help them to understand better their clients better although we can learn through observation because supposedly we have different cultures with our clients and sometime their cultures are not easy to understand. More than that, learn this can avoid us from become judgmental to our clients and have a bad impression toward them because it will lead to unsuccessful treatment in that session. When clients know that we is respecting to their race and cultures, they will not hesitate to share everything. Normally, more time needed to establish rapport or deep personal relationships. Some clients have a tendency not to disclose their personal information to an unfamiliar person. To add it, in my understanding, some cultures may consider traditional counseling to violate their basic philosophy of life. Then we can use our counseling skilled to help them. Every client needs different approaches based on their cultures. For sure, skills and learn about cross cultural counseling are must come in one package and both are needed.
If counselors do not know to give their services to other cultural background, problem may arise because of differing value orientations, differing expectations and attitudes, ineffective verbal and nonverbal communication. There are will be a barrier between counselor and client if counselor does not know how to address the barriers. The other important of being aware about class and culture bound value is counselor will not misunderstanding those client values. Counselors are not consider as skilled counselors if they do not know how to working with client with culturally different population. The term like culturally skilled counselors can be used to prove that learn cross cultural and being skilled counselor cannot be separated and it will not waste our time by learning that.
In a conclusion, to be effective counselors, they need to have an appreciation for cultural diversity, an understanding of the individual culture and a sense of empathy for client. Beside that, counselors need appropriate beliefs or attitudes toward clients, skill to intervene effectively in cross cultural situations and abide by ethical standards established by the counseling profession. To stress that, teaching cross cultural is not waste of time but it can improve the skills that the counselor already have.