Culture-centered Research and Counselor Efficacy

Culture-centered research is introduced as a model that counselors can use to engage in more authentic forms of investigation, particularly when exploring phenomena related to non-Western peoples. The authors assert that culture-centered research addresses the inherent ethnocentrism and bias in traditional research methodologies that lead to inaccurate application and interpretation of constructs, faulty generalizations about non-Western client populations, and compromised efficacy among counselors. However, little discussion has focused on Western-oriented scientific knowledge that serves as a foundation for clinical practice. In a review of the literature, the authors provide an historiography of research in counseling and psychology, offer alternative research methodologies, and outline several culturally informed clinical interventions to enhance counselor efficacy. This argument is of particular value to international counseling scholars who seek to explore cultural issues within their own countries. Furthermore the authors call for a transformation within counseling research that honors the cultural mores outside of the Western paradigm.

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Culture-centered research is introduced as a model that counselors can use to engage in more authentic forms of investigation, particularly when exploring phenomena related to non-Western peoples. The authors assert that culture-centered research addresses the inherent ethnocentrism and bias in traditional research methodologies that lead to inaccurate application and interpretation of constructs, faulty generalizations about non-Western client populations, and compromised efficacy among counselors. However, little discussion has focused on Western-oriented scientific knowledge that serves as a foundation for clinical practice. In a review of the literature, the authors provide an historiography of research in counseling and psychology, offer alternative research methodologies, and outline several culturally informed clinical interventions to enhance counselor efficacy. This argument is of particular value to international counseling scholars who seek to explore cultural issues within their own countries. Furthermore the authors call for a transformation within counseling research that honors the cultural mores outside of the Western paradigm

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