The authors present a brief introduction to Americans of Arab descent and a brief overview of Arab culture. Then, culturally appropriate counseling considerations related to family, attitudes toward disability, religion, communication, acculturation, help-seeking behaviors, and stereotypes are highlighted. In the last section, the authors provide…

Social justice is considered the 5th force in counseling and has largely been aimed toward advocating for oppressed individuals and groups by creating change in the societal structures that maintain oppression. However, there is a lack of information for counselors who work with clients who oppress others. This article addresses assessment,…

Limited literature is available applying specific theoretical orientations with American Indians. Solution-focused therapy may be appropriate, given the client-identified solutions, the egalitarian counselor/client relationship, the use of relationships, and the view that change is inevitable. However, adaption of scaling questions and the miracle…

Latino students attend 2-year colleges more often than 4-year colleges. This has an impact on the rate of bachelor's degree attainment, because the transfer rate between the 2 levels is low. The author uses national data to identify predictors associated with college-level choice and then uses social-cognitive career theory (Lent, Brown, &…

Social psychological research suggests that because of concerns about being perceived in stereotypical ways, people may experience negative affect and diminished attention and cognitive capacity during interracial interactions. The authors discuss this research in relation to therapy and assessment and also offer practical suggestions for ensuring…

The tribal-cultural milieu in which the author was raised incited awareness that Native American people live in a great tapestry of life where everything and everyone is interconnected. It is an awareness that cannot be taught through lectures or books. It is an awareness of connectedness that Native American people had in early childhood but was…

Most indigenous approaches for any interpersonal interaction begin with the relationship, knowing a person, developing trust, and respect for the individual that fits well with Western interpersonal approaches. Unfortunately, there exists no Western research to determine the efficacy of this method with indigenous populations. Because of the…

This is a narrative journey of a Blackfeet woman as she learned to help ethnic minority students navigate graduate training. The talk reflects the holistic, contextual, and interdependent characteristics of Native American culture blended with the culture of the West. Insights from working with horses are included because they have much to teach…

Separated by continents and cultures, survivors of the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina share a common bond in their extreme trauma and ensuing struggles. The authors discuss and illustrate core ideas based on the commonalities derived from the experiences of women survivors of these two disasters.

This article describes Let's Talk, a counseling center outreach program. Counselors hold walk-in hours across campus to engage students who might not otherwise seek counseling. Locations are chosen to reach underserved communities. Counselors offer "informal consultation", a less formal alternative to traditional counseling.

Self-awareness is conceptualized as an important component of multicultural competence among counselors. Scholars have suggested that the promotion of self-awareness and, relatedly, cultural empathy can be most effectively facilitated through the use of experiential learning. The use of analogies is presented as another method to promote…

A multicultural-ecological (M-Eco) method assesses multiple levels of a client's presentation, such as individual, micro-, meso-, exo-, macro-, and chronosystems. An M-Eco method is a culturally sensitive practice of Bronfenbrenner's (1995) ecological perspective that focuses on behavior's contextual and interactional nature and an individual's…

International college students in the United States often face adjustment difficulties; therefore, cultural sensitivity is necessary to help them express their concerns. This article describes the development of translations of international students' common mental health concerns into 7 languages. Suggestions for the use of translated materials…

Accurate assessment of ethnic minority clients is often hindered by clinician bias and lack of culturally sensitive instruments. Multicultural guidelines can enhance clinician awareness and sensitivity in conducting assessments with diverse populations. These guidelines are illustrated using an Asian Indian American character from Lahiri's (2008)…

The authors use traumatic stress theory to develop an ecosystemic understanding of hegemony and systemic barriers to educational success for culturally diverse students. Scholarship on trauma and systemic oppression are applied to students' academic experiences, and recommendations for improving educational outcomes include assessing for and…