Paula, the counselor, is a 37-year-old woman. She has lived away from home since she began college. During college, she lived with roommates in an apartment. After graduation, she bought a condo.

While completing her graduate studies, she was in what she thought of as a solid romantic relationship with a man. She got pregnant while in graduate school and gave birth to a son who is now 5 years old. After thoughtful evaluation of her relationship, she decided not to marry and to take care of her son alone. Her parents are very proud of her accomplishments.

While at the office, Paula received a call from Carmen, a 35-year-old widow with two daughters who are 8 and 10 years old. Carmen lives in a small town. Only school counselors are available in her town. One of her sisters insisted that Carmen seek mental health counseling.

Carmen’s husband, George, died in a car accident while driving to her parents’ house to repair their refrigerator. Carmen called George the afternoon before he died and asked him to please pass by her parents’ house after work. Although he was a teller at a bank, he was very handy. The repair took more time than he expected and it was raining heavily when he left the house. Another driver lost control of his car and crashed into Jorge due to the wet pavement and curvy road.

Carmen is seeking help because she does not know what to do. She is afraid of assuming the entire responsibility of her home. Her parents and in-laws believe that her daughters need to be in the presence of a male figure of authority to develop strong values and respect. Carmen’s in-laws also feel that it will look bad if a young widow has men visiting her house, even if they are friends who are trying to help. Carmen’s in-laws consider a woman’s reputation to be her most valuable treasure. In addition, Carmen’s parents feel guilty for the accident and want to help, while her in-laws have lost their only son and are too grief stricken to help her at this time.

Carmen has been taught that as a mother, her children’s welfare must be her first priority. As a result of George’s death, the girls are more demanding. Carmen’s daughters also want their family to live with their paternal grandparents so that Carmen can continue being a stay-at-home mom. The girls believe that if Carmen moves with George’s parents, their mother will not remarry.

Questions

· How do the cultural identities of the counselor and the client differ?

· Use the American Counseling Association (ACA) Code of Ethics and the Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development’s (AMCD) Multicultural Counseling Competencies. What ethical conflicts might arise from this case? What AMCD competencies should the counselor consider to avoid possible conflicts?

· Because Paula and Carmen have different values, should Paula refer Carmen to another professional? Explain your rationale and state why the recommended action would make Carmen an effective cultural counselor.

Case 2

Myrna and Rosa are lesbians in a relationship. They are looking for family counseling because of excessive arguing and communication problems. They have identified several issues that they want to address, but believe that their sexual orientation is not an issue.

They chose a male counselor because they believe he will be more objective and less biased. They expressed feeling comfortable with their sexual orientation and wanting to focus on improving their communication. The counselor recognized their communication problem and expressed his willingness to help them, but expressed his belief that their sexual identity is the source of their problems. He believes that in compatible relationships, there must be indisputable gender roles with a male and a female.

Questions

· Do you think that sexual orientation is the couple’s primary counseling issue? Explain your rationale.

· What evidence of counselor bias exists in the case study? What AMCD competencies might be useful to consider when deciding if the counselor can still be effective in dealing with the clients?

· What ethical guidelines might the counselor’s supervisor refer to when providing feedback on the counselor’s assumptions about his clients presenting problems?

Case 3

José Carlos is a 41-year-old Colombian immigrant. He has lived in the United States for 11 years. Members of his extended family live in the United States, but his parents and three sisters still live in Colombia. He is seeking therapy because he is having difficulty dealing with his impending divorce from his wife, Ana. Ana is 35 years old and is from the United States. They have a 13-year-old son and a 9-year-old daughter.

José Carlos met Ana at a community service project sponsored by Ana’s social work class. They have been married for 14 years. José Carlos has United States citizenship because of his marriage to Ana. He is unsure of how his divorce will affect his U.S. citizenship and his parental rights.

Before deciding on divorce, they participated in couple’s counseling. In individual counseling, José Carlos expressed that getting a divorce was her decision. Even though José Carlos does not believe in counseling therapy, he believes he needs help.

José Carlos stated that Ana is too liberal. He believes her professional degree and her friends have influenced her to disregard his traditional cultural values regarding the rules of marriage. She demands personal attention; he believes that the family’s focus should be on their children.

Their parenting styles are different, too. He says that Ana is too lenient and that she lets their children express opinions that oppose theirs. He believes that children must be respectful and that they must follow all of their parents’ orders. Ana wants the children to be independent and have an open mind. She says that they need to be kids.

José Carlos fears that his daughter will fail in marriage like her mother and fears that his son will not learn how to control a woman. He feels ashamed that his marriage failed because he could not control his independent wife. He feels that his inability to control his wife and his household is an insult to his traditional cultural values.

Questions (need to answer them) 200 word each

· Consider other immigrant populations in the United States. What are at least three difficulties that could arise during the counseling process that relate to these populations?

· List the potential gender and cultural issues in this case. How might an effective cultural counselor address each of them? Identify a multicultural competency that best supports your strategy to address the issue.

· Review the ACA Code of Ethics. What ethical conflicts might arise from this case?