Counselling Indigenous Shona People in Zimbabwe: Traditional Practices versus Western Eurocentric Perspectives

Abstract

This paper explores counselling of the indigenous Shona people and provides an argument for multicultural counselling. The vast majority of the Shona people use both traditional (informal) and modern counselling services. The indigenous approach to counselling tactfully captures the importance of the family and the community as a mode of communication for therapy and moral values. However, the influence of Eurocentric counselling theory, research and practice among the Shona people has demonised and oppressed individuals and groups whose culture lies outside the Eurocentric counselling culture. It might be worthwhile for all community leaders, traditional healers, pastors and counsellors to employ the multicultural approach in order to cater for cultural diversity that has come with ‘modernisation’. This method presents a hopeful strategy of recovering stories, cultural traditions and values that have been effective in the past for dealing with contemporary life in indigenous Shona cultural contexts.