This article presents strategies to enhance effectiveness in cross-cultural counseling and psychotherapy encounters. A major assumption is that a coherent orientation is needed that includes cultural differences yet transcends these differences and organizes the human experience in the context of individual world views within the framework of existential philosophy. An understanding of one's own world view and the client's world view are key elements in enhancing cross-cultural effectiveness. Other strategies that can enhance cross-cultural counseling and psychotherapy include a discussion on the knowledge of semantic structures of reasoning and an understanding of culture-its premises and its relationship to effectiveness in cross-cultural counseling and psychotherapy.

A brief review of the major advances in multicultural counseling and psychotherapy literature and research is presented. A major emphasis is on the construct of “worldview” and on how knowledge and understanding of client worldview leads to more effective, ethical, sensitive, and client‐specific counseling and development activities and interventions. This article reviews research and theory to support use of the worldview construct as a mediating variable in counseling and development interventions. This information can help the process of engaging clients, training effective and sensitive counselors, understanding organizational culture, and understanding the impact of gender on worldviews of men and women. Current research on the construct of worldview and its applications in counselor training, in counseling interventions, and in industrial‐organizational settings is presented. Se presenta un repaso de los mayores avances en consejería multicultural y de la literatura e investigación en psicoterapia. Se pone un gran émfasis en la construcción de una visión universal y en como el conocimiento y entendimiento de la visión universal del cliente redunda en intervenciones mas efectivas, éticas, y sensibles. El trabajo revisa investigaciones y teorías para apoyar el uso del constructo de la visión universal coma un variable intermedia entre la consejería y las intervenciones de desarollo. Esta información puede ayudar al proceso de vinculación del cliente, entrenamiento de consejeros efectivos y sensitivos, comprensión de la cultura organizacional, y las diferentes maneras de concebir la visión universal por hombres y mujeres. Se presentan las investigaciones corrientes sobre la construcción de la visión universal y sus aplicaciones en el entrenamiento de consejeros, en intervenciones de consejería, y en ambientes industriales/organizacionales.

Ethnic identity development of South Asian Americans, primarily Indian and Pakistan Americans is explored. Cultural identity is placed in the context of the social, psychological, political, and historical context of the Indian subcontinent and the United States. A framework for understanding South Asian American identity development is proposed for both the immigrant, and the native born. Cultural and gender identity, and the worldview of South Asian Americans is also addressed.

This paper reports the development of a scale to assess world views both within and across cultures. It is a 45-item Likert-type scale, developed to assess beliefs, values, and assumptions on five variables (views of human nature, interpersonal relationships, nature, time, and activity). The scale was administered to 501 university students. Reliability and validity data are described. A multidimensional scaling procedure was used to assess intra-group variation and to determine the profile of world views of the sample studied.

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W Wa al lt te er r J J. . L Lo on nn ne er r a an nd d F Fa ar ra ah h A A. . I Ib br ra ah hi im m P Pr ri im ma ar ry y O Ob bj je ec ct ti iv ve e • To present a general overview of contemporary issues and problems associated with the appraisal and assessment of individuals whose cultural or ethnic origins are different from that of the counselor or others in the helping professions S Se ec co on nd da ar ry y O Ob bj je ec ct ti iv ve es s• To provide counselors and other professionals with relevant resources considered to be useful in increasing one's competence in the area of culture-sensitive assessment and appraisal in cross-cultural counseling • To assist in the process of selecting appropriate assessment and appraisal strategies leading to effective and culture-specific diagnosis and counseling or treatment options ASSESSING AND APPRAISING INDIVIDUALS FROM A BROAD SPECTRUM OF CULTURES AND ETHNIC groups, especially in today's global economy, has drawn much attention from clinicians and counselors.A significant part of this interest has involved ongoing challenges and difficulties with a number of conceptual and methodological concerns at both theoretical and applied levels. These challenges and difficulties include the identification, assessment, and/or measurement of culture-related variables thought to be important in the process of professional intervention. These variables are found All else being equal, the most effective counseling takes place in settings that are culturally isomorphic. This means that there is a high degree of equality in experiences that the client and counselor bring to the professional encounter. High isomorphism guarantees that individuals in such relationships will generally be "on the same page. " This will be enhanced because those in the relationship 38

The authors describe a career counseling strategy based on specific psychosocial characteristics of battered women. The approach is developmental in nature, focusing on the client's self-concept. A group format based on a pilot intervention is proposed to assist battered women in developing appropriate life and career decision-making skills.

In this article, the authors identify the cultural and spiritual assessments needed to conduct counseling with Muslim Americans and Muslim immigrants to the United States. Assessment processes are outlined that include cultural identity (which subsumes several variables); worldview; spiritual assessment along with acculturation level and migration concerns; impact of languages spoken; social, occupational, and educational status of the client in host culture and in home culture (if the client is an immigrant); and family composition and social supports.