Training effective multicultural group counselors: Issues for a group training course

Incorporating Spirituality Into Core Counseling Courses: Ideas for Classroom Application

“…Understanding diverse spiritual beliefs and practices is especially pertinent to training group leaders (Greeley, Garcia, Kessler, & Gilchrest, 1992). Because many cultural groups such as Native Americans, African Americans, and Latinos view spirituality as an integral piece of their worldview, incorporating spiritual issues into groups may be an important aspect of group cohesion and interpersonal dynamics (Jensen-Scott, Coleman, & DeLucia, 1992).…”

His Eye Is on the Sparrow: A Counselor of Color's Perception of Facilitating Groups with Predominantly White Members

“…One prerequisite and essential component of effective counseling with multiracial and multiethnic group members is awareness and knowledge of (a) one's own culture and cultural values and norms, and (b) the client's cultural values and norms (Brinson & Lee, 1997). Greeley, Garcia, Kessler, & Gilchrest (1992) offered, ''All counselors and clients exist in a multicultural environment that necessitates understanding one's own as well as others' cultures' ' (p. 197).…”

“…To be effective, the group leader must have some knowledge or familiarity with the culture of the clientele. Greeley et al (1992) wrote that a counselor who is aware of a particular culture's behaviors and attitudes may become sensitized to how such values and attitudes may interact and affect the dynamics of a group, which can decrease the chances of culturally bound behaviors being misrepresented as pathological. Moreover, the refusal to take on other roles to deal with racial and cultural problems increases the risk of therapeutic ineffectiveness (Brinson, 2000).…”

Cognitive appraisal theory: A psychoeducational approach for understanding connections between cognition and emotion in group work

“…One of the original purposes of group work was to reduce interracial tensions and to facilitate changes in raciayethnic attitudes (Arciniega & Newlon, 1998;Merta, 1995), and this model may be particularly useful for promoting understanding in groups with diverse membership. Greeley et al (1992) underscored the importance of using structured approaches in multicultural group counseling. Such approaches can be particularly useful in the early stages for ethnic minority members because of the possible existence of culturally bound inhibitions and unfamiliarity with Western approaches to counseling.…”

“…Group work, by definition, is the only counseling specialty that allows members with diverse backgrounds to come together and share their subjective experiences with others (Greeley, Garcia, Kessler, & Gilchrest, 1992). Psychoeducational groups, originally developed for use in educational settings, promote growth through knowledge (Association for Specialists in Group Work [ASGWI, 1991) and lend themselves particularly well to cognitive approaches that emphasize didactic information (Vander KO&, 1985).…”