Week 8 Post

I found Byars-Winston and Fouad’s (2006) article titled “Metacognition and Multicultural Competence” to be both intriguing and insightful. Several prior courses I have taken have also focused on the importance of cultural competence in counseling practice; however, I had never thought about the relationship between multicultural competence and career development. After reading this article, it seemed rather apparent that culturally competent career counselors are not only appealing but necessary when working with a multitude of highly diverse clients. As with traditional counselors, one size does not fit all in the realm of career counseling. According to Byars-Winston and Fouad (2006), career counselors are encouraged to increase self-awareness and strive to provide culture-centered practices. Insight is helpful in gaining a greater understanding of the counselor’s “in-group” as well as the cultural context of the client. This concept of insight and increased awareness made me think of an activity completed in another course. The Implicit Association Test (IAT) helps to uncover underlying biases and assumptions that often exist below our conscious level of awareness. In my case, I completed the Race (Black – White) IAT with the assumption that I was not prejudiced towards African Americans; however, this test revealed my preference for European Americans by assessing the speed at which I associated two types of concepts. Based on my personal experience, I recognize the importance of revealing and acknowledging these underlying biases as they will almost certainly impact my work with future clients.

                Additionally, Byars-Winston and Fouad (2006) described metacognition as the incorporation of one’s own cultural frameworks, values, and worldview into the counseling process. Career counselors are encouraged to engage in ongoing self-reflection. Similarly, counselors are required to identify and utilize culturally appropriate intervention strategies (Byars-Winston & Fouad, 2006). I think this constant process of engaging in self-reflection would not allow the counselor to maintain awareness of their own thought processes and assumptions, but it would also allow the counselor the opportunity to “check in” with the concerns identified by the client to ensure they are not overlooking any presenting problems.  This metacognitive awareness also affords counselors the opportunity to monitor and evaluate their goals, interventions, and relationship with the client at every step of the counseling process. With an increasingly diverse population, the demand for culturally competent counselors possessing metacognitive skills will continue to rise in career development counseling.

References

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