Cultural Characteristics Of Counseling Paper

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Compare the generic characteristics of counseling with respect to culture, class, and language, with Native American characteristics in terms of culture, class, and language. Which characteristics most closely reflect your culture, class, and language? White Culture/Generic Characteristics of Counseling Characteristics of counseling differ based off of culture, class, and language. Generic counseling characteristics and components of White culture can include the English language. Communication in the White culture can refer to either verbal or nonverbal communication (D.W. Sue & Sue, 2013). Verbal communication can consist of speaking or talking whereas nonverbal can refer to gestures and body language. For example, during counseling sessions …show more content…

It will also be important to clarify how the history of the client’s culture has affected the client in the past or present. For example, Native American youth tend to have the highest amount of youth with substance abuse related disorders (Lane & Simmons, 2011). Therefore, when a client who is Native American presenting with a substance abuse problem, it will be important to fully assess the history of the client. Many times, the substance abuse can relate to having a history of being the victim of racism, trauma, and warfare. (Lane & Simmons, 2011). By gathering information from the client about their history, the counselor will be able to better assess the client and provide the best treatment possible. Along with the history, it will be important that the counselor and client create a positive trusting relationship. If the client has been a victim of racism, trauma, or warfare, they may not be willing to trust the counselor, especially if the counselor was of the same race/culture that victimized them. By creating a positive, healthy relationship, the client will more likely feel comfortable and eventually open