The pairing of Brown chapters 4 and 5 with the meta-cognition and multicultural competence article was a great read. I knew that any profession in the field of counseling or in a field of work where you supervise others, there are a code of ethics that each position fallow. I however did become a little over whelmed with it all the ethics and ways that you could do harm to someone. It is important to know your code of ethics for your particular occupation but I feel as though there is always a gray area within each code. It leaves room for misjudgments that you might make but not mean to. So I guess my question would be, do some counselors live on the fine line of crossing the code of ethics and others plat it safe? And perhaps how do you find somewhere in the middle where you are being the best possible counselor to your clients but also being true to who you really are.

     The code of ethics listed in chapter 4, I feel go hand in hand with multicultural knowledge and how it plays a role in each of the code ethics listed for counselors. “Above all, do no harm, be competent, respect clients right to choose, honor your responsibilities, make accurate public statements, respect counselors from other professions, and advocate for clients needs,” ( Brown, 2012, 82-85). It is important to have cultural diversity and understand the differences among cultures, but also understanding the laws of the states in which you reside in. There are times where there will be conflicts but being aware of the differences in cultures, even differences in gender, and preference of being with a man or women can allow you to help your client in a way that has their best interest in heart. Not being culturally diversified, I feel as though would affect each one of the codes of ethics listed in chapter 4.
      The article on meta-cognition and multicultural competence, Brown and Kane noted that, “little information is available on the role that race, gender, and sexual orientation pay in career interventions, “(2006, p.188). I find that interesting and puzzling at the same time because the beginning of the article starts off by saying, “ Cultural diversity is a significant feature of the social context in which career development and work behavior occur,” (Byars-Winston & Fouad, 2006, p.189). If cultural diversity is so significant, why isn’t there more information about how different cultural values play a role with the counselor and client as well as the outcome of counseling sessions? My first thought was, maybe those who choose counseling prefer to be counseled by those they have the most in common with and have an extensive knowledge and share the same cultural background. This goes for the same with same gender and those who are gay; perhaps they seek advice from people that share the same interests and tastes. This is just something I was thinking about as I was reading both the chapters and the article.
      I do believe that it is important to be aware of other cultural values and beliefs. Being ignorant to anything other than your own beliefs is in my mind not being very competent and I do not feel as though one could be a good counselor if you only allowed yourself to be in the mindset of your own beliefs and values with out consideration of others.

 

Brown, D. (2012). Career Information, career counseling, and career development (10^th ed.). New York: Pearson Education, Inc.

 

Byars-Winston, A. M. & Fouad, N.A. (2006). Metacognition and multicultural competence: Expanding the culturally appropriate career counseling model. The Career Development Quarterly, 54(3), 187-201.