Counseling families in poverty can be a daunting process if one only focuses on what is lacking. Taking such a deficit approach is limiting not only to the counselor but also can serve to disempower the clients. This paper presents a strengths-based approach for counseling families living in poverty that emphasizes relational processes and the…

Counselor educators introduce racial/cultural identity models in order for students to examine their own racial identity and learn the value of identifying the stage of racial/cultural identity development of their clients. While there is an abundance of literature about the multicultural training of White students, there is very little on…

Wen-wu is a Chinese conceptualization of masculinity that strikes a balance between wen (i.e., literary strength) and wu (i.e., physical strength). This concept can be readily applied to a mental health setting when working with male clients. The present treatise outlines the concept of wen-wu and provides suggestions for use in clinical work.…

Victims of domestic violence present a challenge to law enforcement and emergency room personnel. The authors propose a helping approach to assist these professionals. This paradigm is composed of: active and empathetic listening, acceptance without judgment, identifying victims' strengths, honoring victims as experts, and the process of leaving…