ABSTRACT
There is a need to increase multicultural understanding in the United States and other parts of the world today. Global influences and a constant influx of minorities from all over the world call for a need for the inculcation of knowledge and skills in understanding cultures that are different from those of the white majority. This chapter will highlight the awareness, knowledge, and skills necessary for counselors to work with diverse populations within the school system, college, and mental health settings. The need for counselors’ awareness of themselves as individuals will be highlighted. As Locke reiterates in his 1998 book Increasing Multicultural Understanding, “in helping relationships with the culturally diverse, it might be necessary and useful for those involved to share their personal experiences as well as their worldview” with their minority clients.
