Counselling Culturally Different Clients in Careers

Abstract

Career counsellors and advisers in a variety of workplace settings often experience a degree of discomfort when counselling culturally different clients from non-English-speaking backgrounds. This may be due to a lack of cultural awareness, background knowledge and counselling skills that are necessary in meeting the needs of many in this client group. Using the Career Decision Making Model as a guide, this paper highlights the special needs of culturally different clients at each stage of the model: self awareness, opportunity awareness, decision-making, and implementation and transition. It aims at heightening career counsellors' sensitivity to and knowledge of cultural issues affecting the career decision-making process for culturally different clients, with an emphasis on people from Asia. It also presents intervention strategies to enable the reduction of communication barriers that may exist between counsellor and client.