Multicultural Counseling: Contest, Theory and Practice, and Competence

Rating:
Summary: Multicultural Counseling
Review: Review of Multicultural Counseling: Context, Theory and Practice, and Competence, edited by Jerry Trusty, Eugenie Joan Looby, and Daya Sandhu.

This book was designed as a text for counseling students, and I found it useful for that purpose. Each chapter includes case examples to show how theories and models of counseling are applied to clients. Also, at the end of each chapter, experiential activities for classes and small groups are included. In general, the case examples and activities are appropriate and some are very creative.

Overall, the text is comprehensive, well-organized, and current. Regarding comprehensiveness, the book is structured to address the Council on Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) accreditation standards, including chapters on areas not covered by some multicultural texts, such as spirituality, GLBT counseling, and counseling people with disabilities. In particular, the identity development chapter is very comprehensive as compared to most multicultural texts, covering various models for several diverse groups. Regarding organization, the chapters flow in logical sequence, avoiding many of the problems common to edited books. The chapters are more general rather than esoteric in focus, making the text most appropriate for master's-level counseling students.

Several current and emerging issues and areas are included in the book. For example, in the chapter on spirituality, a new model of spiritual identity development is presented, and the identity development chapter covers material on Biracial identity development. Several chapters are written by authors who are well-established and recognized in their specific areas. There is no chapter specifically on multicultural assessment; however, this topic is covered in several chapters.

The book has a very detailed index, easy-to-read print, and is of manageable size. I strongly recommend it as a text for introductory, master's-level counseling courses.