Week 2 Assignment 2

Ethics

Implementing Multicultural Ethics: Issues for Family Counselors

C. Bret Hendricks1, Loretta J. Bradley1, and Derek L. Robertson2

Abstract This article addresses the need for family counselors to examine the application of new constructs to counseling ethics training. The authors believe that current ethics training is deficient in integrating high-level cognitive decision models and multicultural constructs. The authors challenge family counselors to expand their cultural perspectives in ethical decision making and cease ethics training that is inadequate to meet the needs of a diverse society.

Keywords ethics training, cognitive decision models, multicultural constructs, family counselors

Case Study

‘‘Uh oh,’’ Elaine Miller exclaimed. Elaine, a family counselor

in a large southern city, is having lunch with her friend, Paula,

also a family counselor. ‘‘Paula, I honestly thought that I had

done the ethics training for this license renewal, then I remem-

bered I wasn’t feeling well when we had the training with the

local group,’’ Elaine explains. ‘‘Well,’’ Paula says with a dis-

missive hand wave, ‘‘They went through the new state require-

ments. Otherwise, you didn’t miss much. Just the same old

stuff.’’ Paula described the training, explaining that the trainers

provided updates regarding new state requirements for docu-

mentation and informed consent. She concluded by reassuring

Elaine, ‘‘You can get that stuff from the website.’’ Elaine

sighed and glanced over her shoulder. Then, looking at Paula

in a conspiratorial manner, she said, ‘‘You know, I think I

might have ‘gotten sick’ on purpose just to not have to go to the

same boring training again. I just hate having to go and listen to

stuff that I can look up myself. These trainings are just excru-

ciating.’’ Sighing again, she went on to say, ‘‘The only good

thing about ethics training is being able to see my friends,

because I never really hear anything that helps me.’’ She

relaxes a bit, nods to herself and tells Paula, ‘‘I’ll just find

something on-line and get it done tonight. That’s easier any-

way.’’ ‘‘Now, I have a real ethics question for you, Paula.’’

I have this case that I just don’t get. I am so stressed about this case.

Maybe you can help me. You see, I’m seeing a family from Paki-

stan and they have all their relatives living with them. The hus-

band’s parents don’t ever leave the house; they just sit there and

tell everyone what to do. The whole family just revolves around

any little thing that the grandparents want. Also, the parents don’t

allow their kids to do anything because the grandparents want the

kids home from school immediately. I know that I need to work

with the whole family, I just don’t know how to do it and really

help them.

Every family counselor is confronted with questions that

challenge his or her ethical beliefs; questions that are not

answered in simple dichotomous terms of right/wrong. More-

over, family counselors find themselves working with clients

who are increasingly diverse; that is, vastly different from their

own families and cultures of origin. Many family counselors

grew up having never known persons of widely divergent ethi-

cal cultural beliefs. The purpose of this article is to provide a

more thorough perspective of diverse cultural ethical beliefs

to which most family counselors have little or no exposure.

Ethical Dilemma

While professional family counselors agree that ethical compe-

tence is mandatory, they are ill- prepared to practice systemic

ethics that encompass higher level moral and cultural con-

structs. Hill (2004) reported the most commonly taught topics

presented in counselor education ethics courses are: confiden-

tiality, duty to warn, informed consent, dual relationships,

scope or practice, sexual harassment, and record keeping. Fur-

ther, although it is given that counseling programs must offer at

1 Department of Educational Psychology and Leadership, Texas Tech

University, Lubbock, TX, USA 2 Department of Counseling, University of Texas San Antonio, San Antonio,

TX, USA

Corresponding Author:

C. Bret Hendricks, Department of Educational Psychology and Leadership,

Texas Tech University, 3008-18th, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA.

Email: [email protected]

The Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families 2015, Vol. 23(2) 190-193 ª The Author(s) 2015 Reprints and permission: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1066480715573251 tfj.sagepub.com

least one course in ethics, these courses are usually taught in a

lecture format. However, despite this format, traditionally prac-

ticed for years, there is compelling evidence suggesting that

this teaching modality may not be the best format (Cook-

Greuter & Soulen, 2007). Further, Warren, Zavaschi, Covello

and Zakaria (2012) write that ethics is a broad topic requiring

more than a simple lecture format. Corey, Corey and Callanan

(2011) posit that counselor educators must consider that stu-

dents’ progress from conceptual issues to active learning and

practical application. Other researchers found that effective

ethics training challenges students to transform their current

ways of thinking to more integrated processes, including case

study (Cook, Greuter, & Soulen, 2007). Credence for these

findings is provided by McAuliffe and Eriksen (2011) who

conclude that ethics training should emphasize the use of crit-

ical analyses through case studies. McAuliffe and Eriksen

(2011) further write that ethics training should emphasize

high-level moral and ethical reasoning rather than simplistic

solutions that are inherently unrealistic.

Ethics Training and Multicultural Perspectives

Ethics training should provide students training in multicul-

tural perspectives. Cannon (2005) writes that students must

consider multicultural perspectives in ethics training. Accre-

dited counselor education programs provide at least one course

in multicultural counseling (CACREP, 2009). However, these

multicultural courses are only an introduction to what should

be an ongoing conversation (Cannon, 2005; Watt, Robinson &

Smith, 2002). First and foremost, they are charged with prepar-

ing students with the skills, knowledge, and awareness to work

with those minorities that they are most likely to encounter in

their work. These are groups who, at some level, are forced to

adjust their lives when dealing with the dominant culture. While

these classes typically do employ some interpersonal and experi-

ential activities, they normally lack the depth and continuity to

promote more comprehensive schemas around culture and val-

ues (Cannon, 2005; Endicott, Bock & Narvaez, 2003). These

courses may provide students with insight however; the reduc-

tion of bias often rests at an intellectual level. Affective bias,

implicit bias, or aversive racism often remain unchanged (Auger,

2004; Boysen, 2010; Boysen & Vogel, 2008).

Humans have a natural tendency toward ethnocentricity and

mental health practitioners are no less ethnocentric than the

typical nonprofessional (Leong & Santiago Rivera, 1999). Ideas

about what is right and wrong are often so ingrained that they

escape examination. A lifetime of conditioning by one’s culture

as to what is correct, proper, or moral makes it difficult for one

to differentiate between what is merely a social construction and

what is a ‘‘truth’’ that transcends culture. Americans often fail to

recognize the value of learning from other cultures. They see the

United States as a world leader and assume that where others

do things differently they have simply not yet been enlightened

as to the benefit of being like the United States (Anderson,

Lawton, Rexeisen, & Hubbard, 2006).

These sentiments are echoed by Leong and Santiago-

Rivera (1999) who note that one of the challenges for global

multiculturalism is the ‘‘false consensus effect’’ where one

assumes that his or her behavior, values, or reactions are the

norm and that others would naturally agree or behave simi-

larly. Therefore, counselors may assume that theories and

techniques or values that resonate with them will be effective

or make sense to all clients, regardless of differences in cul-

ture or contexts.

Thus, much can be learned about human nature from exam-

ining cultures with different values frameworks—not just those

that are considered minorities within our borders but also those

that are outside of the United States. Even if one never sees an

individual client or family from India or Zimbabwe, learning

about those cultures can provide a mirror to reflect assumptions

about human nature and what is considered ‘‘right’’ or ‘‘wrong.’’

Examples of child rearing practices, education, faith, rituals, and

ethics from around the globe can provide a contrast that helps

students to see their own culture and be more vigilant and aware

in regard to their assumptions.

A single course in multiculturalism is insufficient to pro-

duce the necessary openness and awareness needed to under-

stand the limitations of one’s culture on others (Cannon, 2005;

Watt, Robinson, & Lupton Smith, 2002) and to acknowledge

unintentional bias (Auger, 2004; Boysen, 2010; Boysen &

Vogel, 2008). Infusion of multiculturalism into the full coun-

selor education curriculum is necessary to counteract the life-

long conditioning students have had. Because undetected

biases related to values are often deeply embedded, it is cru-

cial that counselor educators challenge students with multi-

cultural perspectives in their ethics training while

supporting them to make sense of and find appreciation for the

way others address moral issues.

Thus, a salient question arises. Do family counselors

have appropriate training and understanding of multicultural

perspectives in ethics? The authors posit this understanding

is lacking and is based upon deficits in current training

modalities which at best, are outdated; while they may be

at worst, deficient in meeting the complex needs of a chang-

ing world. In this article, we present a plan whereby family

counselors may begin to deepen their understanding of cul-

tural ethics.

As the previous paragraphs indicated, the authors believe

that present ethics training in counseling programs generally

family counseling programs specifically do not meet the

needs of a complex and diverse society. Thus, the authors are

issuing a 2-fold challenge. First, counselor educators in fam-

ily counseling programs need to teach ethics using higher

level critical analyses, including higher levels of moral rea-

soning and cultural ethics. Second, continuing education

related to counseling ethics must address these same areas,

thereby providing appropriate counseling training for practi-

cing family counselors. Further, the authors assert that profes-

sional family counselors must challenge current training

paradigms that seem woefully inadequate in meeting their

needs.

Hendricks et al. 191

Case Study

Rose immigrated to the United States from a Sub-Saharan African

country. She came to the United States as a refugee and was work-

ing with a counselor on issues related to trauma, adjusting to the

culture, and everyday life of living in the United States. Rose dis-

closed that in her home country her husband had a second wife. The

counselor expressed sympathy and concern for Rose. Although

Rose immediately let her counselor know that her husband taking

a second wife was not the problem, ‘‘She is like my sister. How can

I take care of the house, the children, and our husband without

her?’’ While counselors may have legitimate concerns about

women around the world who are not empowered, these were not

Rose’s immediate concerns. Rose’s values were centered on taking

care of her family in an environment that is vastly different from

the one most counselors in the West can relate to.

Critical examination of the hegemony of Western ethics and

communication styles is necessary as each family counselor

considers his or her ethical framework and communication style.

It is problematic that those in western cultures have not chal-

lenged the primacy of western ethics. Essentially, many family

counselors may be unwittingly problematizing client issues due

to ignorance of other worldviews. For example, Western cul-

tures prize autonomy, identified by Kitchener (1984) as a basic

tenet of ethics. However, clients from eastern cultures value

communitarian beliefs and filial alliance and adherence to moral

virtues. In considering another culture, followers of Confucius

believe in the concept of Ren that compels believers to adhere

to the moral codes of their ancestors. Thus, autonomous

decision making is not encouraged in favor of consideration of

ancestral values as guiding principles of morality and ethics.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the authors challenge all family counselors to

broaden their cultural perspectives in ethical decision-making

and communication styles. The authors further challenge fam-

ily counselors to cease maintenance and facilitation of ethics

training which is inadequate to meet the needs of a diverse soci-

ety. Ethics training should, at its core, value multicultural per-

spectives. Most ethics training in counselor education

programs and continuing education programs is based upon

lecture format that promotes passivity and does not adequately

challenge participants to integrate complex ethical decision-

making constructs. Furthermore, counselor training, often,

does not train family counselors in optimum communication

styles that meet the needs of their clients. We have, in the coun-

seling profession, adopted a stance that is, without intent, per-

petuating Western notions of ‘‘right’’ and ‘‘wrong,’’ while not

accounting for other philosophical points of view.

The issues addressed by the authors in this article cannot be

remedied easily. Simplistic solutions are not adequate to meet

the complexities of cultural integration into family counseling.

This article and its concurrent findings have compelled the

authors to conduct further research to explore the issues with

the intent to provide specific strategies from other cultures

which may be incorporated into family counseling practice.

The authors believe that this article provides a beginning stage

for exploring existing milieus of counseling ethics training and

critically examining whether or not present modalities of train-

ing are effectively meeting the needs of family counselors.

Additionally, the authors will pursue further research into the

similarities and differences in autonomous communitarian

approaches to moral philosophies, especially as they relate to

family counseling. Through addressing pluralistic approaches,

family counselors will benefit by using philosophies and tradi-

tions of ethical decision making and communication when

searching for ethical practices that meet the needs of the ever-

shifting perspectives of a multicultural society.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to

the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, author-

ship, and/or publication of this article.

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