Career Self-Management and Development of Multicultural Knowledge and Practice: Experience of Professional Counsellors

Abstract

The focus of this research project explores counsellors’ experiences and application of multicultural competencies when working with diverse clients. Using a descriptive qualitative case study approach (Yin, 2009), thirty professional counsellors engaged in semi-structured interviews. They reflected on various factors drawn upon in developing and incorporating a multicultural base of knowledge to inform their practice when working with diverse clients. This research study examines what it means to be a multicultural counsellor, including their perception of challenges and outcome expectations in developing a multicultural framework to situate their practice, and cultivation of professional resilience in their work with diverse clients. The article concludes with a discussion for future work in the area and presents a broadened scope of counsellor career adaptive behaviors implemented in effectively working with diverse clients.

Self-Assessment of Career Counsellor Competencies in the Field of Career Guidance Depending on the Place of Residence

“…Ridley, D. Mollen and S.M. Kelly (2011), which include cognitive, affective, and behavioural components, the model has the integrated deep structure, which consists of 5 metacognitions: purposefulness, motivation, selection, sequencing, and timing; career counselling self-efficacy and multicultural counselling competence (Vespia et al, 2010;Mani, 2020); the study on competence-based education principles and performances applied to guidance career curriculum and in-service training programs and need to acquire strategic competences (Alvarez-Rojo, Romero-Rodriguez, 2007); competence to use the dialogue in career guidance of students (Soika, 2017); value identification methods helping career counsellors to identify career counselling boundaries as well as act professionally, ethically and wisely in assessing any particular situation (Racene, Dislere, 2019); skills for career counsellorempathy, insight, communication and listening, flexibility and tolerance (Blank, 2017); the most frequently methods used in career counselling by L. Damberga (2013) are: clarification of values, card sorting method, SWOT analysis, interest inventory survey, case study, personal project, decision making, visualisation, life-space mapping, future visions, experience assessment, tree of life, way of life, role play, problem solving, decision making. The career counsellor must be able to apply these methods in working with the client.…”