In April 1991, the Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development (AMCD) approved a document outlining the need and rationale for a multicultural perspective in counseling. The work of the Professional Standards committee went much further in proposing 31 multicultural counseling competencies and strongly encouraged the American Association for Counseling and Development (AACD) and the counseling profession to adopt these competencies in accreditation criteria. The hope was to have the competencies eventually become a standard for curriculum reform and training of helping professionals.
Originally accepted for publication in the Journal for Multicultural Counseling and Development, this document was considered so important that many recommended its publication in the Journal of Counseling & Development to reach the largest audience possible. As a result, we are pleased to announce that both journals have decided to publish the document jointly as a service to the profession.
RATIONALE AND DESCRIPTION
Despite the long history of warnings and recommendations concerning the need to develop a multicultural perspective in the counseling profession and the need to develop multicultural competencies and standards, it is ironic that the Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development (AMCD) finds itself continuing to justify these concerns. Numerous conferences held by the American Association for Counseling and Development (AACD), the American Psychological Association (APA), and other government-sponsored events have noted the serious lack and inadequacy of training programs in dealing with racial, ethnic, and cultural matters (ACES Commission on Non-White Concerns [McFadden, Quinn, & Sweeney, 1978]; Austin Conference 1975, Dulles Conference 1978, National Conference on Graduate Education in Psychology 1987, and President’s Commission on Mental Health 1978 [Sue, 1990; Sue, 1991]; Vail Conference [Korman, 1974]).
Since the early 1970s, it has been gratifying to witness the increase in both literature and graduate training programs addressing the need to develop multicultural awareness, knowledge, and skills. For example, an early curriculum survey (McFadden & Wilson, 1977) of graduate education programs revealed that fewer than 1% of the respondents reported instructional requirements for the study of racial and ethnic minority groups. Subsequent surveys (Arredondo-Dowd & Gonzales, 1980; Ibrahim, Stadler, Arredondo, & McFadden, 1986; Wyatt & Parham, 1985) have revealed an increasing emphasis in this area. The most recent survey, to be published shortly (Hills & Strozier, in press) revealed that 89% of counseling psychology programs now offer a multiculturally focused course. These surveys, however, fail to give us any indication about (a) their integration in the overall counseling curriculum, (b) the multicultural perspective of the courses, and (c) the degree of commitment by the department to multicultural issues. Indeed, the greatest fears among multicultural specialists are (a) that program professionals continue to see multicultural courses as less legitimate than other counseling requirements, (b) that they are taught primarily by junior-level faculty or adjuncts, (c) that they are haphazard and fragmented without a strong conceptual framework linked to specific competencies, and (d) that they tend to deal with cultural differences from a purely intellectual perspective without reference to the sociopolitical ramifications of counseling (oppression, discrimination, and racism) (Ponterotto & Casas, 1991; Sue, 1990; Sue & Sue, 1990; Sue et al., 1982). In reality, most counselors do not have enough practical experience in training, nor in their daily lives, with racial and ethnic minorities.
The purpose of this article is threefold. First, we explore the need and rationale for a multicultural perspective in our society, particularly in counseling and education. We advocate the need for a multicultural approach to assessment, practice, training, and research. Second, we propose specific multicultural standards and competencies that should become part of what can be defined as a culturally competent counselor. Last, we advocate specific strategies and issue a call for action regarding the implementation of multicultural standards in AACD.
The multicultural competencies and standards proposed in this report refer primarily to four groups in our society: African Americans, American Indians, Asian Americans, and Hispanics and Latinos. Many of these standards, however, have had useful relevance to other oppressed groups as well. Before we continue, it is imperative to clarify some terms and issues likely to be raised in this report. One of these is the controversy surrounding the inclusiveness or exclusiveness of the term multicultural counseling (Fukuyama, 1990; Lee & Richardson, 1991; Locke, 1990). There are those who would like to define culture broadly to include race, ethnicity, class, affectional orientation, class, religion, sex, age,
JOURNAL OF COUNSELING & DEVELOPMENT � MARCH/APRIL 1992 � VOL. 70 477
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