Helena Kasurinen
University of Eastern Finland
MULTICULTURAL COUNSELLING
IN COUNSELLOR TRAINING IN
FINLAND
COUSELLOR TRAINING
PROGRAMME
Training of guidance
practitioners
•Master in Education, major in guidance
and counselling + teacher qualification
•Teacher qualification + 60 credits of
guidance and counselling
•Vocational teacher qualification + 60
credits of guidance and counselling
•Multiform training available
•In-service training provided within the
field
CEDEFOP/Helena Kasurinen
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Example: Teacher training courses for people with
immigrant background (60 credits)
• University of Turku; Universities of Applied Sciences, Vocational Teacher Training
Units
• distant and contact periods
• possible to participate in training and work at the same time
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Culture-sensitive and multicultural
counselling in counsellor training
• Gender equality – segregation in labour market
• Equity in society
• International and multicultural counselling
• Cultural competences
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COMPETENCES
Competences of guidance practitioners
(Counsellor training at the university of Eastern Finland 2011)
• Interpersonal and social skills – how to meet other people
• Ethical competences – to recognise one’s values, assumptions and attitudes – to recognise
ethical dilemmas - to respect and value individual’s subjectivity, to create confidential and
equal atmosphere and enhance empowerment of the client
• Competence of using narratives as a counselling method – skills to take into account and
listen to the stories of individuals and groups
• Sociological and culture-sensitive competences – the skill to see the clients in their life
situation and to take into account social, cultural and societal contexts
• Competence to recognise the importance of language and speech in describing cultural
realities and life situations. The readiness to develop communication skills and usage of ICT
and other technology in providing guidance services.
• Competence to plan and work in different networks and workgroups.
• Counsellors have the competence to reflect and self-evaluate and develop their skills and
competences and guidance provision
CEDEFOP/Helena Kasurinen
THE FRAMEWORK OF MULTICULTURAL COUNSELLING COMPETENCE AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF JYVÄSKYLÄ (adapted by Puukari from Sue et al. 1992)
1. Counsellor’s awareness of 2. Understanding
his/her own assumptions,
the world view of
values and biases
the culturally
different client
3. Developing
appropriate
intervention
strategies and
techniques
A. Beliefs and
Attitudes
B.
Knowledge
C. Skills
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Counsellor’s awareness of his/her own assumptions,
values and biases
1. The counsellors are aware and sensitive to their own cultural heritage
and value and respect differences.
2. The counsellors are aware of how their own cultural background
influences psychological processes.
3. The counsellors are able to recognize the limits of their competence and
expertise.
4. The counsellors are comfortable with differences that exist between
themselves and clients in terms of race, ethnicity, culture and beliefs.
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Understanding the world view of the culturally
different client
1. The counsellors are aware of their negative emotional reactions toward
other racial and ethnic groups that may prove detrimental to their client
in counselling. They are willing to contrast their own beliefs and attitudes
with those of their culturally different clients in a non-judgemental
fashion.
2. The counsellors are aware of their stereotypes and preconceived notions
that they may hold toward other racial and ethnic minority groups
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Developing appropriate intervention strategies and
techniques
1. The counsellors respect a client’s religious beliefs and values about
physical and mental functioning.
2. The counsellors respect indigenous helping practices and respects
minority community’s intrinsic help-giving networks.
3. The counsellors value bilingualism and do not view another language as
an impediment to counselling.
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Counsellors’ skills
The counsellors seek out educational, consultative and training experiences to enrich their understanding and
effectiveness in working with culturally different populations.
The counsellors seek to understand themselves as racial and cultural beings and seek actively a nonracist identity.
The counsellors should familiarize themselves with relevant research. They should actively seek out educational
experiences that enrich their knowledge, understanding and cross-cultural skills.
The counsellors become actively involved with minority individuals outside the counselling setting.
The counsellors are able to engage in a variety of verbal and nonverbal helping practices and pay attention to their
culture bound nature while choosing measures.
The counsellors use interventions for the support of a client, helping him/her to see when problems are due to bias
and racism in others and not in a client.
The counsellors are not averse seeking consultation with traditional healers or religious leaders and practitioners
of culturally different clients when appropriate.
The counsellors use the language requested by a client, and seek a translator if needed or refer a client to a qualified
bilingual counsellor.
The counsellors are experts in the use of traditional assessment and testing instruments and they are also aware of
the cultural limitations.
The counsellors should attend to as well as work to eliminate biases, prejudices discriminatory practices.
The counsellors take responsibility in educating their clients to the processes of psychological intervention
such as goals, expectations, legal rights, and the counsellor’s orientation.
CEDEFOP/Helena Kasurinen
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Thank you for your attention
Contact information
Helena Kasurinen
Email: helena.kasurinen@uef.fi
CEDEFOP/Helena Kasurinen
13/04/2015