Position Paper 1 by MariatulKhabtiyah Mohd Khamzah(0716106)

' Teaching Cross Cultural Counseling to trainee counselor is a waste of time. Instead, we should focus in equipping them with the skills and competencies for being good counselors. This have nothing to do with culture'. Based on the topic given, I agree that each counselor must be equipped with such skills such as listening, attending behaviour, good rapport and so on. It is because in helping relationship, counselor must build and get trust from client. If counselor do not have skills to persuade and counsel the client, the counseling session cannot be done well. For example, if the counselors do not know how to ask question to client and rather ask close-ended question, they cannot detect the real problem beside it. Thus, the counseling sesion would not reach its goal. That is why skills and competencies are needed for trainee counselor to make them prepare served the different clients.

But skills and competencies ae not enough to be good counselor if the trainee d not know about culture. Idisagree with the statement that said ' Teaching Cross Cultural Counseling to trainee counselor is awaste of time'. In this world, we have thousands and milions races from diverse background, culture religion and skin colour that might be our clients. The possibility to counsel them is high when the counselor work in an international school or university. As we aware, in Malaysia there are more than three races such as Chinese, Indian and Malaysian including the aborigines. we should master and know about their culture. Even though we are all Malaysian, we are still different in terms of culture and religion. Moreover, we ight work at the workplace such as school that contains students from different background.

Besides, clients are free to choose the counselor that they are comfortable with to share their problems. Clients are not restricted to particular counselor. Each counselor must treat and welcome their clients warmly because everyone has the rights to see counselor. For example, Chinese counselor is not restricted to Chinese students only but serve averyone. So, if trainee counselor know and learn about culture, they will become convincing and sensitive to the needs of the clients.

In other hand, if we look at ' Kod Deraf Etika Kaunselor' that are based on American Counseling Association ( ACA ), it is stated in section B: Confidentiality, Privileged Communications and Privacy that counselor must respect the human right as stated in :

• B.1.A Multiculturalism /Diversity Consideration

- Counselor maintain awareness and sensivity regarding cultural meaning of confidentiality and privacy.

It shows that culture is important trainee counselor to become a great counselor. In whatever state the counselor work, they must know abot the culture, people and state. Even in ' Kod Deraf Etika Kaunselor' we have to change the ethics according to culture of every races. For instance in West, hugging and shaking hands between counselor and clients is permissible because the culture of themselves is like that. while in Malaysia, we cannot hug people who are not related to us. Hugging is not apporiate and allowed between clients and counselor from opposite gender. The counselor must suit the ethics with people and culture. Besides, by learning other cultures, the counselor can widen and increase their knowledge about certain thing to everything. Having the counselor title is not enogh if we do not have knowledge about this proffesion.

In a nut shell, trainee counselor must be equipped with skills and competencies including culture. In order for them to become a good counselor, they should aware and sensitive about other's view and opinion. Only that can lead them to become a good counselor in all over the world.