The Sociopolitical Nature of Counseling

Counseling is a sociopolitical act. However, many counselors are unaware of the fact that the profession has at its core a set of cultural values and norms by which clients are judged. In order to make the counseling psychology field more responsive to the needs of multicultural populations, the profession must be willing to engage in self-examination. This article explicates how White culture serves as the foundation for counseling theory, research, and practice. The use of this theory base with multicultural populations is explored and specific recommendations for the field of counseling psychology are presented.