MULTICULTURAL COUNSELLING IN COUNSELLOR TRAINING IN FINLAND

Helena Kasurinen

University of Eastern Finland

COUSELLOR TRAINING PROGRAMME

Training of guidance practitioners

•Master in Education, major in guidance and counselling + teacher qualification

•Teacher qualification + 60 credits of guidance and counselling

•Vocational teacher qualification + 60 credits of guidance and counselling

•Multiform training available•In-service training provided within the

field

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Example: Teacher training courses for people with immigrant background (60 credits)

• University of Turku; Universities of Applied Sciences, Vocational Teacher Training Units

• distant and contact periods• possible to participate in training and work at the same time

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Culture-sensitive and multicultural counselling in counsellor training

•Gender equality – segregation in labour market•Equity in society•International and multicultural counselling•Cultural competences

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COMPETENCES

Competences of guidance practitioners(Counsellor training at the university of Eastern Finland 2011) • Interpersonal and social skills – how to meet other people• Ethical competences – to recognise one’s values, assumptions and attitudes – to recognise

ethical dilemmas - to respect and value individual’s subjectivity, to create confidential and equal atmosphere and enhance empowerment of the client

• Competence of using narratives as a counselling method – skills to take into account and listen to the stories of individuals and groups

• Sociological and culture-sensitive competences – the skill to see the clients in their life situation and to take into account social, cultural and societal contexts

• Competence to recognise the importance of language and speech in describing cultural realities and life situations. The readiness to develop communication skills and usage of ICT and other technology in providing guidance services.

• Competence to plan and work in different networks and workgroups.• Counsellors have the competence to reflect and self-evaluate and develop their skills and

competences and guidance provision

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THE FRAMEWORK OF MULTICULTURAL COUNSELLING COMPETENCE AT THE

UNIVERSITY OF JYVÄSKYLÄ (adapted by Puukari from Sue et al. 1992)

1. Counsellor’s awareness of his/her own assumptions, values and biases

2. Understanding the world view of the culturally different client

3. Developing appropriate intervention strategies and techniques

A. Beliefs and Attitudes

B.Knowledge

C. Skills

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Counsellor’s awareness of his/her own assumptions, values and biases

1. The counsellors are aware and sensitive to their own cultural heritage and value and respect differences.

2. The counsellors are aware of how their own cultural background influences psychological processes.

3. The counsellors are able to recognize the limits of their competence and expertise.

4. The counsellors are comfortable with differences that exist between themselves and clients in terms of race, ethnicity, culture and beliefs.

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Understanding the world view of the culturally different client

1. The counsellors are aware of their negative emotional reactions toward other racial and ethnic groups that may prove detrimental to their client in counselling. They are willing to contrast their own beliefs and attitudes with those of their culturally different clients in a non-judgemental fashion.

2. The counsellors are aware of their stereotypes and preconceived notions that they may hold toward other racial and ethnic minority groups

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Developing appropriate intervention strategies and techniques

1. The counsellors respect a client’s religious beliefs and values about physical and mental functioning.

2. The counsellors respect indigenous helping practices and respects minority community’s intrinsic help-giving networks.

3. The counsellors value bilingualism and do not view another language as an impediment to counselling.

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Counsellors’ skills

The counsellors seek out educational, consultative and training experiences to enrich their understanding and effectiveness in working with culturally different populations.

The counsellors seek to understand themselves as racial and cultural beings and seek actively a nonracist identity.The counsellors should familiarize themselves with relevant research. They should actively seek out educational experiences that enrich their knowledge, understanding and cross-cultural skills.

The counsellors become actively involved with minority individuals outside the counselling setting. The counsellors are able to engage in a variety of verbal and nonverbal helping practices and pay attention to their culture bound nature while choosing measures.The counsellors use interventions for the support of a client, helping him/her to see when problems are due to bias and racism in others and not in a client. The counsellors are not averse seeking consultation with traditional healers or religious leaders and practitioners of culturally different clients when appropriate. The counsellors use the language requested by a client, and seek a translator if needed or refer a client to a qualified bilingual counsellor. The counsellors are experts in the use of traditional assessment and testing instruments and they are also aware ofthe cultural limitations.The counsellors should attend to as well as work to eliminate biases, prejudices discriminatory practices. The counsellors take responsibility in educating their clients to the processes of psychological interventionsuch as goals, expectations, legal rights, and the counsellor’s orientation.

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Thank you for your attention

Contact information

Helena Kasurinen

Email: helena.kasurinen@uef.fi

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