Identify and comment on the four stages of the Multicultural Competence Development Model.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Stage 1: The foundation is about acquiring a multicultural identity. It implies that a competent multicultural counselor must be aware of who she or he is, her or his experience of society and the role counselors must play in society on behalf of clients. The cultural identity allows the counselor to understand the cultures of their client and how marginalization may be implicated in their presenting concerns. Stage 2 is multicultural consciousness based on the understanding that occurred in stage 1. This consciousness helps the counselor to listen and hear the clients without personal bias, prejudice, and judgment with empathy for the client. Stage 3 involves multicultural personality development for the counselor, whereby the counselor shows interest in learning about the social contexts of the diverse client. This interest to learn allows the counselor to understand the intersections of clients’ identities and the impact of cultures in the formation of such identities. The counselor also comes to appreciate the impact of systemic oppression on clients’ lives. The final stage is development of multicultural ability or competence essential for social justice advocacy, diagnosis, and therapeutic prevention and intervention strategies.