What are some of the reasons counselors may find it difficult to incorporate disability-related issues into practice?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Disability is a multicultural issue requiring counselors to acquire multicultural competence and take a multiculturally sensitive approach when working with persons with disabilities. Such an approach can be challenging due to a number of reasons. Counselors may not have received training or received limited training in disability, leaving them with the feeling of not being prepared. The counselor may still harbor biases and negative attitudes toward PWDs making them too uncomfortable to discuss and handle disability topics. Due to limited interaction with PWDs, some counselors may have doubts about their competency and feel incompetent to work with PWDs. Some counselors may be unaware of or have limited awareness of the prejudice, discrimination, and oppression experienced by PWDs; consequently, they may shy away from asking clients about their disabilities, the onset, and the impact of disability on their daily lives. In so doing, the client is left feeling further marginalized and invalidated. To help deal with the challenges, graduate training programs are encouraged to integrate disability topics into their core curriculum as they prepare counselor trainees for services with PWDs clients.