Introduction
A person’s worldview consists of individual assumptions, presuppositions, and attitudes, many of which are shaped by his or her culture. Cross-cultural counseling is a direction of therapy that aims to identify and explore the similarities and differences across cultural groups. This approach to counseling implies that the awareness of a client’s cultural peculiarities is essential for effective psychological functioning.
Although people have a common human nature, they also possess individual values and are impacted by cultural norms, which complicate counseling since even the representatives of the same culture may have different attitudes. The identified topic was chosen for this paper to research different perspectives regarding cross-cultural counseling as the number of mental issues increases, and there is a need to conceptualize how culture impacts one’s behaviors.
Conceptualizing Cross-Cultural Counseling
Mutual understanding and trust are the key factors for effective counseling as they allow for building relationships between a client and counselor. It is important to emphasize that clients cannot automatically trust counselors, which assigns counselors with the responsibility for demonstrating sensitivity to cultural contexts. In this connection, Pedersen et al. consider that cross-cultural counseling should resonate with a person’s specific worldview to effectively address the existing concerns.
One of the key dilemmas that are explored in the literature is related to engagement. For example, if a male counselor can help the client who suffers from her husband’s abuse, or is it appropriate for a White specialist to work with African-Americans on the problems of racial discrimination? These investable differences are discussed by Pedersen et al., who rationally state that counselors should clearly understand cultural differences to ensure the well-being of their clients. The evidence-based foundational perspectives can be used by counselors to answer the above questions, paying attention to particular circumstances.
The framework of universalism versus relativism is widely discussed in the academic literature, serving as the dominant perspective within cross-cultural counseling. According to Lomas, universalism implies that there is a common human nature in spite of the fact that people have apparent cultural differences. In terms of universalism, research focuses on collecting data from large-scale surveys to identify contextual factors that determine people’s well-being, including social capital, public health, relationships, and income.
On the contrary, relativism is interested in understanding normative behaviors in the context of a certain culture. Lonner supports the idea of opposing the emphasis on intergroup similarities, claiming that behaviors, patterns, and perceptions are more significant. For example, filial piety is regarded as normal in many Asian cultures, while it is not broadly accepted in the US and Europe. From Lonner’s article, it becomes evident that the therapeutic strategies should be consistent with the cultural worldviews of clients in relativism.
Elaborating on the ideas of universalism versus relativism, Lomas develops a new positive cross-cultural psychology perspective. This scholar thoroughly examines the available literature to discuss various dimensions, such as universal relativism, extreme relativism, and so on. The author suggests that positive psychology should consider both sides of the perspective as it leads to a comprehensive understanding of how people act, communicate and perceive. Namely, among the universal determinants to be taken into account, there are family relationships, community and friends, health, work, and financial status.
At the same time, the realistic mediators are composed of norms, values, traditions, economics, climate, geography, history, politics, and language. There are complex intersections between the mentioned determinants and mediators, which prioritizes the need to employ a combined approach. To reflect the relevance and objectivity of the author, it is possible to provide one of the examples from the study. In Western countries, the concept of freedom is an individual belief, while society and cultural norms have a strong influence on how Asians perceive this concept.
Collectivism versus individualism perspective is another topic of extensive academic research as it is mentioned across various sources. Shiraev et al. state that collectivism is interpreted as a set of behaviors based on strong ties between the members of society. In collectivistic communities, the value of group norms is the greatest value that directs people. In turn, individualism refers to behaviors that are guided by concerns for oneself or the immediate group. The studies show that Western countries prefer individualism and independence, but Asian cultures stuck to collectivism and interdependence.
In terms of cross-cultural counseling, the differences between collectivism and individualism are useful to clarify the roles of family, friends, work, and other factors for a certain client. The concept of embeddedness, for instance, reflects group- or family-oriented values, when the concerns for outsiders are limited like in Singapore, Thailand, or Bulgaria. Accordingly, it promotes the situation when communication strategies and therapeutic methods can be chosen more appropriately in case a counselor is aware of concerns, norms, and behavioral patterns of the client.
From the Biblical worldview, every nation is targeted by God, who sends various messages through His prophets. For the ministries, serving local cultures means that they should apply cross-cultural approaches since even in a small town, there can be several cultures. The differences should be clear to ministries and counselors to offer gracious soul care. For instance, dozens of questions can be asked to obtain cultural information and better comprehend one’s cultural background. However, as noted by Lomas, direct guidance is often perceived negatively by clients, while immediacy and restatement are most valued. Therefore, for counselors, it is critical to learn basic communication and assistance skills that will be discussed sooner in this paper.
The review of the Scripture allows cities various verses that confirm the intent of Jesus and his apostles to reach out and impact people of different cultures. In Galatians, it is stated that “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). According to this verse, anyone who belongs to Christ by faith is promised to be protected regardless of cultural specifics. Paul indicated that to be with God, it is not necessary to follow the law of Moses, which means that other nations can also become Christians. It should be stressed that the above quote does not refer to political or economic issues, but it points to the equal value of every person in the eyes of God.
Love to a neighbor is one of the Great Commandments that encourages Christians to establish relationships. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). In this excerpt, one can discover the great commission to spread the word of God across the nations, and biblical counselors have an opportunity to fulfill this mission. Although not all Christians are called to be preachers, they can be the so-called behind-the-scenes persons, who can provide information and stories to make disciples. For counselors, the reading of Bible studies can be integrated with personal experience and evidence-based therapeutic interventions in their practice. When a person is disoriented and depressed, the stories from the Scripture can become the most relevant healing and inspiration.
Speaking of the possible elements to improve cross-cultural counseling, it is significant to pay attention to the study by Conoley et al. These authors make a successful attempt to research basic helping skills among Mexican-American and European-American clients. Based on the application of the mixed-method analysis, it is found that the concern for empathy is prevalent among these clients. Moreover, the presence of open-ended questions, restatement of the clients’ concerns, and immediacy of a counselor were listed among the useful skills.
In view of the above findings, one may recommend that these skills should be mastered by counselors to make the interaction with clients more welcoming. Among the negative skills, Conoley et al. identify a challenge, close-ended questions, and direct guidance. Since the core idea of the challenge is to confront a person with his or her contradictions, which often causes confusion and distancing. By avoiding the skill of challenging, a counselor can better focus on kindness and respect in terms of the biblical worldview. Since the above results were based on the interviews with cultural minorities, they can be considered relevant, but a small number of participants limits the generalization of findings.
A great contribution to the field of cross-cultural counseling is made by Lonner, who discusses the basic skills that are essential for counselors to develop. In particular, the scholar is confident in the need to study and apply all the perspectives to have an arsenal of pertinent knowledge. There is an apparent call to continue research “to enrich the existing psychological empire by urging all of its participants … to study all that is human.” The links between behavior, mind, and culture should be examined to extend the contemporary understanding of cross-cultural counseling. In turn, Shiraev et al. point to the importance of a multiethnic focus as an integral part of biblical leadership and friendship, providing coherent arguments. By developing the awareness of how one or another culture perceives collectivism/individualism and relativism/universalism, it would be possible to adjust counseling methods and choose proper words to reach clients.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it should be emphasized that cross-cultural counseling is a complex field, implying the attention to similarities and differences across cultures. Considering that a client’s perceptions, behaviors, and views depend on his or her culture and personality, the adoption of a combination of perspectives seems to be the most effective solution. The basics of collectivism/individualism and relativism/universalism are discussed in this paper, which is beneficial to understand how a person’s cultural background impacts his or her attitudes to life, work, family, traditions, society, and so on.
The principles of cross-cultural counseling are also supported by the Scripture, in which Christians are encouraged to build relationships and make disciples. Ultimately, the recommendations provided in this paper would benefit counselors who need to obtain more information about relevant skills and approaches to effectively practice cross-cultural counseling and integrate it with biblical teachings.
Bibliography
Conoley, Collie, Melissa L. Morgan Consoli, Heidi Zetzer, Elisa Hernandez, and Rafael Hernandez. “Examining Basic Helping Skills in Cross-Cultural Counseling between European American Counselors and Mexican American Clients.” Interamerican Journal of Psychology 49, no. 3 (2015): 365-386.
Lomas, Tim. “Positive Cross-Cultural Psychology: Exploring Similarity and Difference in Constructions and Experiences of Wellbeing.” International Journal of Wellbeing 5, no. 4 (2015): 60–77.
Lonner, Walter J. “Half a Century of Cross-Cultural Psychology: A Grateful Coda.” American Psychologist 70, no. 8 (2015): 804–814.
Pedersen, Paul B., Walter J. Lonner, Juris J. Draguns, Joseph E. Trimble, and Maria R. Scharron-del Rio. Counseling Across Cultures. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2015.
Shiraev, Eric B., and David A. Levy. Cross-Cultural Psychology: Critical Thinking and Contemporary Applications. New York, NY: Routledge, 2016.