Counseling in Fiji
C. R. Auxier
Peter M. Forster
Selina C. Kuruleca
This article discusses the evolving role of mental health counseling in Fiji in the context of current social and
cultural changes. Although counseling traditionally has been reserved for cultural elders and the clergy, the
term counselor is being redefined, due to Western influences, to include persons who are formally educated and
trained to provide mental health services. Contemporary issues such as changing gender roles, violence, and
suicide are discussed as forces that are influencing the need for trained mental health counselors. This article
discusses the current status of educating and credentialing counselors in Fiji and emphasizes counselor
education that stresses methods suited to the cultural characteristics of persons in the region.
Counseling in Fiji takes place in a unique context of blended and varied cultures. The
term Fijians, or Fiji Islanders, refers to the collection of ethnic groups that inhabit the
Islands; however, such terms tend to homogenize the uniqueness of the separate cultures that
exist together. Indigenous Fijians and Indian Fijians account for approximately 95% of the
population, with Chinese, Europeans, and other Pacific Islanders making up the remainder.
Two significant historical events influence the characteristics of contemporary Fiji: British
colonization from 1874 to 1970, and the British importation of agricultural laborers to Fiji
from India during the early days of colonization. The lingering influences of colonization still
permeate every facet of Fijian society, and Indian Fijians now make up 44% of Fiji’s
population (World Facts, n.d.).
The lingering effects of colonization and the current press of globalization are two
forces that place Fiji in a posture of change. Many people believe that social problems will
dramatically increase in the next 5 years due to the effects of Fiji’s current rate of economic
development and urban drift. People are voluntarily moving to cities in search of jobs and
economic stability, although many agricultural workers are forced to move to urban areas
because of expired sugarcane land leases. Towns and cities are becoming burdened with
displaced and disenfranchised persons who have minimal sources of livelihood. These
persons, who were once accepted members of well-ordered rural social communities, often
demonstrate their frustration with the chaotic and impersonal atmosphere of urban living
through domestic violence, crimes against property, child abuse, marital strain, and suicide.
ROLE OF COUNSELING
For the majority of Fijians, the term counseling refers to a process that differs from
Western concepts of counseling. U.S. authors Ivey and Ivey (1999) described counseling as
the task of listening carefully to stories told by clients in an attempt to learn how clients come
to think, feel, and act as they do. During the process, clients and mental health counselors
collaborate to produce meaningful change. Western approaches tend to encourage clients to
C. R. Auxier, Peter M. Forster, and Selina C. Kuruleca are with the Department of Education and Psychology,
University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji. E-mail: drauxier@connect.com.fj
be more or less active in the counseling process, depending on the counseling approach and
the mental health counselor using it. Murphy and Dillon (1998) stated, “It is chiefly the client
who will be regularly expected to reveal personal information in exquisite detail” (p. 8).
Counseling in Fiji, however, is typically a process in which persons with authority
advise or direct their clients, often without hearing their stories. Counseling traditionally has
been perceived as a corrective process administered by elder family members, village leaders,
clergy, and teachers who counsel those who stray from cultural or religious norms. Clients,
because of their cultural upbringing, are prone to follow the advice and directions without
question. Therefore, in the Fijian context, counseling is described as directive advising.
Fiji Islanders tend to view life through a lens of collectivism and, therefore, think first
of their place in a group before thinking of themselves individually. Cultural and religious
leaders define appropriate roles and behaviors, and in nearly all situations, persons defer to
those leaders for guidance on how to live. If persons stray from expected behaviors, those in
authority counsel them. Fijians violate cultural norms if they take their personal concerns
beyond the boundaries of their families and social groups; therefore, professional counselors
may be viewed as superfluous and threatening to cultural traditions. Additionally, many
persons believe that mental health professionals, such as trained counselors, limit their work
to persons with severe mental illness; therefore, to seek the assistance of a counselor for
personal issues carries the stigma of being crazy, a stigma they would prefer to avoid.
Although women and men in Fiji might equally benefit from counseling, women are
usually hesitant to seek help because of their submissive role in the culture. Women in most
Fijian ethnic groups are considered, and consider themselves, subordinate to men. According
to Adinkrah (1995), “Many women in Fiji harbor the notion that a husband is the
unquestioned head of his household and the wife’s duty is to obey and serve him without
reservation” (p. 91). Most women are socialized to believe that attending to their own
emotional welfare is a display of selfishness that would detract from their role of being
wholly attentive to others (i.e., primarily the men and children in their lives). For this reason,
many women do not recognize counseling as an option when they experience personal issues.
COUNSELING ISSUES
Author Kuruleca, educated in the United States and working in Fiji, describes four
main areas of concern that she encounters in her counseling practice:
1. Perception of being stuck. “I can’t leave him, I am his wife. What will the neighbors
and our relatives think?” Women who have shared these thoughts believe they have
two strikes against them: being women and being trapped by their cultural beliefs. For
many of these women, leaving a violent relationship would be unthinkable because of
the cultural expectation to maintain a submissive role, even if it means an existence of
loneliness, helplessness, and terror.
2. Entrenched systems of religious beliefs, practices, and rituals. For many clients, who
believe there is “only one way to do things,” religious belief systems act as barriers.
These religious beliefs often limit clients’ acceptance of alternate options. One client
explained her attempted suicide by saying, “I didn’t want to go to worship or carry
out the ritual, and I knew that my parents would be extremely upset; so I decided that
taking a few extra pills would be an easier way to deal with their insistent religious
devotion.” Clients with religious affiliations may seek counsel from their clergy, and
the advice they receive often results in their feeling more trapped. A client explained,
“I know I am not supposed to live this way, like an animal, while he [husband] goes
on having his fun, but the minister said that I must vosota” (i.e., forgive).
3. Culture of violence and obsessiveness with impulsive behavior. Young indigenous
Fijian men, more than other groups, demonstrate the cultural tendency to resort to
violence in stressful situations, such as domestic disputes. Adinkrah (1995) found that
indigenous Fijian men are overrepresented as offenders in predatory or violent crimes,
although Indian Fijians are overrepresented in white-collar crimes. Perhaps this is
because indigenous Fijian men perceive that there are no other options available, or
they believe that their behaviors are consistent with cultural norms. When in
counseling, these men resist being confronted about aggressive behaviors that to them
are culturally acceptable. Although indigenous Fijian men are more likely to express
their anger immediately and impulsively, Indian Fijian men are more likely to harbor
their emotions and then express them dramatically and aggressively once they realize
they cannot contain their situations.
4. Abuse and neglect of children. Because of cultural tendencies to control with force
and because of widespread poverty, children often are abused and neglected.
Extended family members in indigenous Fijian families often assume a more active
role in parenting children than do biological parents. However, biological parents
monitor their children’s behavior and resort to physical punishment, which leaves
their children feeling rejected and alienated from them. The lack of consistent parental
supervision “has been cited as a factor that contributes to the greater involvement of
[indigenous] Fijian youths in street crimes, especially in urban areas,” according to
Adinkrah (1995, p. 14). Schools inadvertently reinforce the concept of control by
force because they do not persistently support and maintain their stated policies that
discourage corporal punishment, in spite of the Fiji government’s ratification of the
United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child in August 1993.
An additional issue that is relevant for all counselors in Fiji is the risk of suicide and
parasuicide. Booth (1998) reported that the Pacific region has some of the highest youth
suicide rates in the world. Suicide rates for young Indian Fijian men, and young men in the
Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Guam, Palau, and Samoa, are among the
highest anywhere. The same is true for young women in Samoa and young Indian Fijian
women. In these countries, suicide is the highest cause of death for 15- to 24-year-olds. The
most commonly used methods are hanging and ingestion of weed killer.
A widely accepted reason for the high levels of suicide is social change resulting from
developmental pressures. These pressures lead to intergenerational conflicts, which are
assumed to weigh heavier on young people (Rubinstein, 1992). In addition, Booth (1999)
proposed that the relatively high level of suicide by young Indian Fijian women is the result
of the greater changes they have experienced in recent years compared to young Indian Fijian
men and older Indian Fijian women. Risk of suicide also varies with ethnicity. Persons selfidentifying as Christian and Muslim are at lower than average risk, while those identifying as
Hindu are at higher risk. Mental health counselors need to be sensitive to the differences in
presenting issues, attitudes about self-harm, and outcomes that are considered acceptable
when working with clients of different ethnicities.
The growing public awareness of suicide in general and of suicide by young people in
particular has led to public debate, the establishment of the National Committee on the
Prevention of Suicide in 2001, and pleas by teachers and several nongovernmental
organizations for more trained counselors. It is one of the factors most likely to have led to
increased enrollments in counseling programs at the University of the South Pacific (USP)
since their inception in 1997.
EDUCATION AND TRAINING OF MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELORS
The need for mental health counselors who are educated and trained to be effective in
Fiji is apparent. Professionals who practice in Fiji usually are trained in other countries and
must make theoretical and methodological adjustments when counseling in Fiji. Informal
counselors in Fiji benefit from occasional workshops that are conducted by clergy or other
interested groups. However, the popular belief persists that preparation in a related field,
maturity, or social status automatically qualifies one to counsel. Increasing interest in formal
university counseling programs reflects changes in that belief.
The formal education and training of counselors in Fiji began with the introduction of
counseling courses at USP in 1997. Currently, USP is the only provider of counselor
education and training in the South Pacific Islands. The nearest other sources are universities
in Australia and New Zealand. The courses at USP are undergraduate courses; however, a
postgraduate program related to counseling began in 2004. A Certificate in Counseling and
Guidance is the basic program offered. This program requires six courses, including a twocourse sequence devoted to counseling skills and theories and a 40-hour practicum at a
community site. In addition to four compulsory courses, students may choose two courses
from either a school or community counseling track. A Bachelor of Arts in Applied
Psychology requires students to select one of three areas of emphasis (i.e., strands). One of
these is a counseling strand. As in the Certificate program, the basic two-course counseling
sequence is compulsory, and, with the exception of a family counseling course, the other
courses are psychology oriented. The Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Psychology began in
2004. Although the program has been included in the university literature for some time, it
has remained dormant because of staffing deficits. The Diploma requires four courses in
counseling-related areas.
The counseling courses at USP rely on counseling approaches and theories that
originate from Western countries. Counseling texts and instructional personnel are usually
from these countries, and the Western concepts of counseling presented are sometimes
inconsistent with cultural traditions in Fiji. The dilemma for counselor educators at USP is to
prepare counselors to enter local cultures and be effective without relying solely on foreign
counseling approaches. Local students must be encouraged to think critically as they evaluate
the content of courses for relevance to their cultural settings. The result likely will be hybrid
approaches to counseling that will be suited to local environments.
Counselor education and training does not coincide with a system of licensure or
certification in Fiji, because no system currently exists. There are no restrictions on who can
call themselves a counselor, and those who counsel are not accountable to any system of
monitoring. This situation may soon change due to the recent passage of a Family Law Act
that requires counseling for those who seek divorce. Authors of the legislation suggested that
independent organizations be individually recognized to establish criteria for counselors, and
a registry of counselors who would provide the counseling required in the Act would develop
from these organizations. The Fiji Association of Social Workers and the Oceania
Psychology Register are presently developing lists of counselors who meet their criteria for
credentialing. These credentialing schemes may serve as models to guide the government of
Fiji in developing a system of licensing for counselors.
CONCLUSION
Counseling in Fiji is in a state of transition. Both external and internal forces are
influencing local cultures, and the symptoms of change have surfaced in the thoughts and
behaviors of Fijians in all ethnic groups. People now recognize the need for counseling as a
resource for assisting them in the process of reevaluating their views about themselves and
their society. The perceptions of counseling are also in transition, and Fijians will have to
construct counseling theories and methods that are consistent with their various cultures.
Specifically, Western-oriented mental health counselors who interact with clients in Fiji, and
other South Pacific countries, may have to be more directive in the early stages of counseling
and understand that Fijian clients will perceive that focusing on the self is inappropriate.
Clients may not freely disclose their feelings and experiences, and, therefore, Western
approaches that encourage a collaborative role for clients may be more useful as sources for
comparison than as sources for practice. Mental health counselors who work with Fijian
clients of all ethnicities will require cross-cultural knowledge and skills that will enable them
to be effective within the cultural kaleidoscope of Fiji.
REFERENCES
Adinkrah, M. (1995). Crime, deviancy, and delinquency in Fiji. Suva, Fiji: Fiji Council of
Social Services.
Booth, H. (1998). Casualties of development? Child and youth suicide in the Pacific.
Development Bulletin, 44, 48–50.
Booth, H. (1999). Gender, power and social change: Youth suicide among Fiji Indians and
Western Samoans. The Journal of the Polynesian Society, 108, 39–68.
Ivey, A. E., & Ivey, M. B. (1999). Intentional interviewing and counseling: Facilitating
client development in a multicultural society (4th ed). Pacific Grove, CA:
Brooks/Cole.
Murphy, B. C., & Dillon, C. (1998). Interviewing in action: Process and practice. Pacific
Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Rubinstein, D. (1992). Suicidal behaviour in Micronesia. In K. L. Peng & W. S. Tseng
(Eds.), Suicidal behaviour in the Asia-Pacific region (pp. 199–229). Singapore:
Singapore University Press.
World Facts. (n. d.). Facts about Fiji. Retrieved December 31, 2004, from
http://worldfacts.us/Fiji.htm