Multicultural Interventions

Consultation
And
Counseling

Interventions
Indirect
Individual Consultation
Group/ Classroom Consultation
Systems Consultation

Direct:
Individual Counseling
Group Counseling
Family Counseling

Consultation
Voluntary problem-solving process
that can be initiated and terminated
by either the consultant or consultee.
The purpose of assisting consultees
is to develop attitudes and skills to
function more effectively with
individuals, groups, or organizations
over which they have responsibility.
Duncan, 1995

Individual Consultation
Consultant

Consultee
Individual Child
Client

Individual Consultation
You can be consulting with multiple
people concerning a single child.
Each person working as
consultant/ consultee is an expert
in his/ her own knowledge base.
In the school, the consultee is
usually a teacher or a parent.

Individual Consultation
Typical problems:
Child is experiencing academic difficulties.
Child is experiencing social/emotional/behavioral
problems.

Common solutions:

SST/CST/SIPT works with teacher

Teacher is given additional skills to help the child.
Parent is given additional skills to help the child.
Parent/ teacher work together to help the child.

Group Consultation
Consultant

Consultee
Group/ Class
Client

Group Consultation
You can consult with multiple people
concerning a single group.
Each person working as consultant/
consultee is an expert in his/her own
knowledge base.
In the school, the consultee is usually a
teacher for an entire classroom or a
counselor for a group counseling
session.

Group Consultation
Typical problems:
Group of children throughout the school in different
classrooms experiencing the same problems.
Entire classroom of children are experiencing the same
problems.

Common solutions:
Observe and evaluate the current methods/ techniques
used.
Research the best types of programs to deal with this
specific problem.
Share the results of the research and observations with
your consultee.
Work together to come up with solutions.

Systems Consultation
Consultant

Consultee
School/ District
Client

Systems Consultation
You can consult with multiple people
concerning a single system. The larger the
organization that you work with, the more
people involved.
Each person working as consultant/
consultee is an expert in his/her own
knowledge base.
In the school, the consultee is usually a
principal for an entire school or a
superintendent or school board for an entire
district.

Systems Consultation
Typical problems:
School is experiencing bullying problems.
Student academics are low throughout the county.
District SPED has overrepresentation of diverse students.

Common solutions:
Consultant works with a committee to develop action plan.
Consultant researches effective techniques for bullyprevention programs and teaches them to the school.
Consultant works with district to help make curriculum,
special program, or textbook decisions.
Consultant works with lawyers and/ or state DOE to ensure
that the district complies with requirements.

Steps to Consultation w/
Diverse Consultee (Gibbs,
1980)

1. Appraisal: Consultee determines the

trustworthiness of the consultant.
2. Investigation: Challenge the consultant to
determine if they qualified to work with them.
3. Involvement:Consultee will open up if they
trust you to develop a relationship.
4. Commitment: Consultee commits to
consultant but not process.
5. Engagement: Commit to the process if
they believe in interpersonal skills of
consultant.

Consultee is Diverse
Example: Duncan (1995)
5th grade Afr. Amer. Teacher requests
consult re: misbehavior in class.
Teacher did not respond to notes.
Teacher did not have time to meet or seem
open to meeting.
Consultant began to eat lunch each day w/
teacher and her friends.
No discussion of class took place for 5 days.
Teacher asks again to meet w/ consultant
Teacher and consultant get work done.

Points to Consider:
Client is Diverse
1. Must identify consultants knowledge of
cultural sensitivity.
2. Must aid consultee in developing cultural
sensitivity and knowledge about different
cultural groups.
3. Must aid consultee in developing
understanding of system in which client
works and lives.
4. Work with teacher to improve
development of curriculum and multicultural
education.
Duncan, 1995)

Group Project
Scenario: Hispanic female teacher
has problems working with Arabic
male child. She feels that he is not
listening to her or respecting her.
Questions:
What issues do you need to consider
about the consultee?
What issues do you need to consider
about the client?

Cultural competence
Cultural awareness and beliefs: Providers
sensitivity to her or his personal values and
biases and how these may influence perceptions
of the client, clients problem, and the counseling
relationship.
Cultural knowledge: Counselors knowledge of
the clients culture, worldview, and expectations
for the counseling relationship.
Cultural skills: Counselors ability to intervene in
a manner that is culturally sensitive and relevant.
D. W. Sue, Ivey, and Pedersen (1996)

Improving Cultural
Competence

Self-awareness and stimulus value

Assessment of client
Pre-therapy intervention
Hypothesizing and testing hypotheses
Attending to credibility and giving
Understanding the nature of discomfort and resistance
Understanding clients perspective
Strategy or plan for intervention
Assessment of session
Willingness to consult

Sue, 2006

Breakdown: Improving
Cultural Competence
Self-awareness: know
your own bias and the
impact of this on
therapy.
Assessment of client:
Understand the
system and knowledge
of the client
Pre-therapy: Make
client aware of what
therapy is and what
will happen.

Hypothesizing: What
are the problems?
Credibility and giving:
Client must believe in
the treatment.
Discomfort/
Resistance: Therapists
feelings of why is this
not working?
Client Perspective:
Know your client

Breakdown: Improving
Cultural Competence
Strategy or plan for
intervention: Plan sessions
based on knowledge of
therapy and culture.
Assessment of session:
How did that go? What
now?
Willingness to consult:
Know when you dont know
enough to go it alone.

Issues of Counseling for

Multicultural Clients
Major stressors: poverty, acculturation
and racial discrimination.
Diverse clients terminate counseling
sooner.
Given this, many brief therapies may be
preferred.
Example of one brief therapy that works
well in schools is Solution Focused
Therapy.

Individual Counseling
Therapist
Client

Individual Counseling
Potential Treatments:
Psychoeducational Counseling: provide
information for students on how to
acculturate.
Cognitive-Behavioral: help w/ anxiety
and depression associated with stress.
Solution-focused: help w/ the specific
issue that is challenging the student.

Group Counseling
Therapist
Peer
Client

Peer
Client

Peer
Client

Peer
Client

Peer
Client

Peer
Client

Peer
Client

Group Counseling
Groups should consist of peers who
are experiencing similar problems.
Potential Treatments:
Psychoeducational Counseling: provide
information to the group of peers.
Social skills training: improve social
interactions
Empathy training: decrease violence

Group Counseling
Therapist
Mother
Client

Father
Client

Child
Client

Child
Client

Child
Client

Child
Client

How might this

change
based on our
discussions of
family styles within
poverty?

Family Counseling
Note: Increase in diversity often leads
to decrease in parent participation.
Potential Treatments:
Psychoeducational Counseling: provide
information for parents.
Solution-focused counseling: help the
family with the specific issue.
Narrative counseling: help families
develop and tell their stories.

Group Project
African American 12-year-old male
with impulsivity problems.
Parents want family and individual
therapy with medication?
What are some issues for both
therapy and regular medication
maintenance?