5 credits
Students can increase their sensitivity, awareness and knowledge of, and skills related to multicultural counseling and working effectively with diverse clients in this course. Students explore how their own cultural development, biases, values, and strengths impact the development of their counseling approach. Embracing diversity and various client identity issues and their impact on the counseling relationship are foundational to the course. The application of traditional theoretical orientations and current multicultural theories to culturally diverse groups is also addressed. Topics include age, race, gender, sexual orientation, religious preference, physical disability, social class, ethnicity and culture, culturally sensitive diagnosis and assessment, and family patterns.