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Chapter 6: Multiculturalism and Social Justice in Professional Counseling
Multiple Choice
What is considered the “fourth force” in counseling?
a. Career counseling
b. Social justice counseling
c. Multicultural counseling
d. Mental health counseling
Why did literature on multicultural counseling not grow until the 1960’s?
a. Professional counselors were resistant to learning new techniques
b. It was not until after the 1960’s that U.S. society became diverse
c. Literature on multicultural counseling was banned but was still practiced
d. Larger issues such as racism and discrimination impacted society
The “melting pot” metaphor was rooted in the belief that:
a. It is beneficial to celebrate differences among people of various cultures
b. People from various cultures can form into a common culture by
identifying similarities and ignoring differences
c. Children and adolescents have an easier time forming into the common
culture than adults
d. People of the majority culture will embrace individuals from different
cultural backgrounds
What implications did the “melting pot” metaphor have for counseling theories,
research, and practices?
a. It was not believed that counseling needed to be adapted for individuals of
different sociocultural backgrounds
b. Counseling became more effective for individuals of different backgrounds
since counseling is universal and applicable to all cultures
c. Research on counseling practices significantly increased
d. Counseling techniques were adapted for individuals of different
sociocultural backgrounds
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What was the reason Patterson (1996) criticized counselors who modified the
counseling process to fit different cultures?
a. Counselors should not change for their clients, as they would not be
authentic if they did so
b. Individuals from certain cultures could not benefit from counseling no
matter what approach the counselor used
c. There are universal aspects of counseling that are applicable to all cultures
therefore it is unnecessary to modify the process
d. It is best practice to refer a client to another professional rather than
modify the counseling process
The term “culturally disadvantaged” in the 1960’s reflected:
a. The belief that people of color were deviant and abnormal
b. The idea that people from non-white culture had less cultural heritage
c. The belief that individuals were disadvantaged if they were from the non-
white culture
d. All of the above
Who mainly consisted of the Association of Non-White Concerns (ANWC), when it
was formed in the 1970’s?
a. Caucasian professional counselors
b. Professional counselors of any race that were interested in joining
c. Graduate students
d. African American members of the APGA
What was an important contribution of the Association of Non-White Concerns?
a. MCCs
b. Revisions in the ACA ethics code as it relates to multicultural counseling
c. The Journal of Non-White Concerns
d. Raised awareness of the mental health needs of African American clients
Articles published in the Journal of Non-White Concerns changed the focus of
counseling practices by:
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a. Including articles from non-white scholars
b. Highlighting a culture-centered approach for clients
c. Outlining MCCs
d. Focusing on research studies including non-white samples
Who presented the idea that “multiculturalism is relevant throughout the field of
counseling as a generic rather than an exotic perspective” and therefore should be
considered a fourth force in the counseling profession?
a. Pedersen
b. Rogers
c. Patterson
d. AMCD
In the 21st century, the text mentions all of the following has been given attention in
the multicultural counseling movement except:
a. Increasing efforts to understand different cultural backgrounds
b. Applying counseling methods to other nations
c. Studying the complexities of human diversity and the intersection of
various identities
d. Utilizing additional assessment measures for all culturally diverse clients
What are MCCs?
a. Multicultural counseling competencies
b. Multicultural counselor characteristics
c. Multicultural client characteristics
d. Multicultural client competencies
What is the purpose of MCCs?
a. To provide ethical guidelines for working with diverse populations
b. To provide legal guidelines for working with diverse populations
c. To provide standards for counselor training and practice
d. To provide practice guidelines for working with various populations
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_____________________ is/are arguably one of the most substantial developments in
counseling and psychology.
a. MCCs
b. Multicultural counseling
c. Advocacy counseling
d. Associations promoting multicultural counseling (such as the Association
for Multicultural Counseling and Development)
Which of the following is not one of the three elements that make up the foundation
of the MCCs?
a. Attitudes and beliefs
b. Knowledge
c. Skills
d. Cultural empathy
“The extent to which a psychotherapist is actively engaged in the process of self–
awareness, obtaining knowledge, and implementing skills in working with diverse
individuals” is the definition of:
a. Multicultural competence
b. Multicultural awareness
c. Multicultural skills
d. Multicultural empathy
What is considered the “fifth force” in counseling?
a. Social networking
b. Social justice counseling
c. Multicultural counseling
d. Mental health counseling
In what way did social justice shift the role of professional counselors?
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a. Training in graduate programs shifted from a focus on lifespan
development to a focus on adult development
b. Counselors began serving more individuals in society given the shift from
mental health to social justice
c. Counselors began focusing on the external world of the client rather than
just the internal world of the client
d. Counselors became more aware of social issues that proliferated society
In the 1980’s, there was a shift away from advocacy for clients to advocacy for the
profession. What were the reasons the textbook gave for this?
a. Psychiatry profession indicating what was considered a mental health
issue
b. Education administrators determining the role of counselors
c. Increase in managed care industries
d. All of the above
Why did Lee and Walz (1998) indicate that multicultural competence was limiting if
it did not also include a focus on social justice?
a. Many issues brought to therapy by culturally diverse clients are
systemically based
b. A counselor cannot fully understand the cultural experience of a client if
they do not understand the social context that the client lives in
c. Competencies for multicultural counseling and social justice counseling are
identical therefore should both be studied and practiced
d. Social justice counseling is the most effective way to treat culturally
diverse clients
What is the mission of the Counselors for Social Justice (CSJ), a division of ACA?
a. Promote issues of justice and equity within the profession
b. Promote issues of justice and equity within society
c. Promote issues of justice and equity within counselor education and
training
d. Promote social justice for culturally diverse clients
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Advocacy can occur at all of the following levels except:
a. Meso level
b. Exo level
c. Macro level
d. Micro level
Mary, a professional counselor, is collaborating with a religious leader in the
community to address issues that may be impeding a client’s progress. What type of
advocacy intervention is this?
a. Micro level
b. Macro level
c. Exo level
d. Meso level
Bill, a professional counselor, has been working with legislators to change food
assistance and child care subsidy policies, as many of his clients utilize this type of
assistance. Bill has taken to social media to educate others on these policies. What
type of advocacy intervention would this be considered?
a. Micro level
b. Macro level
c. Exo level
d. Meso level
Why is it problematic if professional counselors fail to integrate multicultural and
social justice perspectives into their work with clients?
a. Cultural factors may be misdiagnosed as mental illness and environmental
barriers may be mislabeled as within client problems
b. It would be against legal and ethical guidelines set forth by ACA
c. It might negatively impact the counselor-client relationship
d. All clients are affected by multicultural and social justice issues therefore it
would be a disservice to clients
Which of the following regarding referring culturally diverse clients is most true?
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a. It is unethical to refer culturally diverse clients to other professionals
b. It is unethical to continually refer culturally diverse clients to other
professionals
c. It is professional counselors’ responsibility to be culturally competent with
every client
d. If a professional counselor is practicing outside of one’s scope of
competence, they must let their supervisor know
What is the purpose of culturally responsive supervision?
a. For a supervisor and supervisee to discuss the client and then determine
what counselor would be best to transfer the client to
b. For a supervisor and supervisee to discuss all cultural factors that may be
causing the client’s problem
c. For the supervisee to learn from a more experienced supervisor who has
worked with a similar client in the past
d. For a supervisor and supervisee to explore the supervisee’s internal values
and beliefs and determine how to best work with the client
Which of the following is not one of the most important considerations a counselor
should consider when determining the percentage of time they devote to individual
and advocacy counseling?
a. What is realistic for the counselor to manage
b. The counselor’s level of competence
c. Whether the client believes they need advocacy counseling
d. The setting the counselor works in
Critics of the social justice movement in professional counseling claim:
a. Social justice competencies are no different than multicultural
competencies
b. It is unnecessary to devote time to social justice, as it overlaps with other
domains of counseling
c. Advocacy counseling is unimportant to the field and should not be the
technique of treatment
d. Advocacy counseling is no different than social work
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The gap between the number of counselors needed to provide advocacy counseling
and the number of competent advocacy counselors is in part due to:
a. Lack of advocacy training efforts in counselor education programs
b. Lack of interest in the field to provide advocacy counseling
c. Lack of qualified advocacy counseling supervisors to provide adequate
supervision
d. Lack of professional development opportunities for counselors to build
advocacy counseling skills
In critiquing multicultural competence, Patterson (2004) argued that the experience
of therapy is determined by the relationship, not a technique. What did he fail to
recognize?
a. Clients from different cultures may place less of an emphasis on the
relationship within therapy
b. Professional counselors have biases that can impact the therapeutic
relationship
c. Clients have biases that can impact the therapeutic relationship
d. Professional counselors may have a difficult time facilitating a relationship
with a client that is culturally different than them
True/False
Literature on multicultural counseling did not thrive until the 1960’s due to reasons
such as segregation, racism, and discrimination in society.
Assimilation counseling was found to be effective for individuals of diverse
heritages.
The Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development (AMCD) was called
the Association of Non-White Concerns (ANWC) in the past.
The MCCs are arguably one of the most substantial developments in counseling and
psychology.
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Social justice counseling is new to the counseling profession with it entering the
field in the 1990’s.
Arredondo and colleagues (1996) reported that retention rates in counseling
culturally diverse clients was extremely high due to the call to multicultural
competence within the counseling profession.
Professional counselors use advocacy strategies typically only at the micro-level, or
individual level.
According to the ACA Code of Ethics (2005), it is unethical for professional
counselors to practice counseling without considering the relevance of
multiculturalism and social justice.
It is unethical to continually refer culturally diverse clients to other professionals.
It is important to be aware of one’s scope of practice and refer a client to another
professional if they are more competent in working with a particular client.
Counselors from privileged and oppressed groups, while may have fundamentally
different experiences from one another, operate similarly within the therapeutic
relationship with their clients.
Professional counselors may mislabel cultural differences as abnormal, rather than
healthy, because their client’s differences do not align with their own worldview.
The counseling office for social justice counseling has expanded to include contexts
outside the office (e.g., community) and clients can include a variety of individuals.
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Many in the field accept and recognize the practice of advocacy work as part of the
conventional counselor role.
An example of a micro-level advocacy strategy is helping a client develop self-
advocacy skills.
Short-Answer/Essay
Describe how multicultural counseling emerged.
List the three areas that the MCCs are categorized into.
Describe the history of how social justice counseling became the fifth force in
counseling.
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List ethical challenges to multicultural and social justice counseling.
Give examples of how you can advocate for clients at the micro-level.
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Give examples of how you can advocate for clients at the meso-level.
Give examples of how you can advocate for clients at the macro-level.