POSITION PAPER NO 1 by MUNIRA SHAHIDAH (0729796)

Teaching cross-cultural counseling to trainee counselor is a waste of time. Instead, we should focus on equipping them with the skills and competencies for being good counselors. These have nothing to do with culture.

Before we go further discuss about this matter, i think we should know first what is cross-cultural all about. According to wikipedia, cross-cultural may refer to

• cross-cultural studies, a comparative tendency in various fields of cultural analysis
• any of various forms of interactivity between members of disparate cultural groups (see also cross-cultural communication, interculturalism, intercultural relations, hybridity, cosmopolitanism, transculturation)
• the discourse concerning cultural interactivity, sometimes referred to as cross-culturalism (See also multiculturalism, cosmopolitanism, transculturation, cultural diversity)

Yes, we should focus on equipping them with the skills and competencies for being good counselor but for trainee, learn about cross-cultural is one of the way for being a good counselor instead of just focus on skills and competencies. When become a counselor, we will face many types of people with different character and different types of culture, religious and understanding. So, by teaching trainee cross-cultural, they will learn all about others culture, religious and understanding.

So, in my opinion, trainee should be taught about cross-cultural. Everyone in this world have their own culture even thought they do not believe in God. Sometimes, they so fanatic about their culture even this issue is so sensitive to be discuss. As a counselor, we should alert with this matter. We will confront with any people and these people might be having different understanding even them in same religion. Culture usually different according state, country etc.

There has a research about cross-cultural training effectiveness. The research done because of the increased internationalization in the economic, political, and social arenas has led to greater interpersonal cross-cultural contact. Because much of this contact has not been successful, cross-cultural training has been proposed by many scholars as a means of facilitating more effective interaction. A review of the cross-cultural training literature is presented, and it is determined that cross-cultural training in general is effective.

This show that learn about cross-cultural is important in a way to be a good counselor. without knowing others culture, counselor will be confront with a hard situation and difficult to make client trust to counselor.

As the conclusion, to be a good counselor, trainee should learn about cross-cultural and expert on it so that be easy to counselor when confront with a situation that include different culture, religion and understanding.

Reference

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-cultural

http://www.jstor.org/pss/258109