Even though multi-cultural counseling now becomes more relevant with globalization and different activities imposed by the cooperation of different countries, such as international business, being a competent cultural counselor is a life-long endeavor. As the counseling process involves interactions with different people, some aspects of cultural counseling are acquired only through the long-term accumulation of experience and continuous analysis of collected information. Cultural counseling involves a wide range of different aspects of knowledge and application methods, implying the active use of both theory and practice.
Through my practice and experience in being a culturally competent counselor, I find that being sensitive and responsive to cultural differences requires an individual’s understanding of his background. Therefore, by establishing the image of his background, an individual could connect his perception to cultural assumptions. Being sensitive and culturally responsive for people starts by acknowledging their peculiarities and their cultural contexts, such as historical events or social norms. While many people could only consider themselves within one standard group with no distinction, they unintentionally limit their potential to be responsive to cultural differences, which results in misunderstandings and conflicts.
Another significant aspect in conveying the importance of being sensitive and responsive to cultural differences is knowing the historical and social context of main cultural differences that an individual might encounter. For example, to illustrate the importance of cultural differences and their acknowledgment, it might be useful to give an interesting example, such as the perception of time concepts in different countries and their origins. Therefore, I think that being sensitive and responsive to cultural differences in people requires a little interest in the topic and a willingness to examine their personality on the subject of cultural assumptions.