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GROUP COUNSELING IN MULTICULTURAL

SETTINGS: ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

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Ida Hartina Ahmed Tharbe

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 GROUP COUNSELING IN MULTICULTURAL SETTINGS:
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Ida Hartina Ahmed Tharbe

Abstrak

Kertas ini membincangkan pengendalian sesi kaunseling kelompok dari segi etika. Terdapat
beberapa garis panduan etika yang telah diberikan oleh badan-badan profesional dalam
bidang kaunseling dan psikoterapi namun kebanyakannya lebih merujuk kepada sesi
kelompok berdasarkan budaya barat. Dleh itu penulis menumpukan aplikasi etika kepada
pengendalian kelompok dalam masyarakat berbilang kaum di Malaysia. Antara topik
berkaitan etika yang disentuh ialah keberkesanan kelompok, keperluan untuk mendidik
masyarakat berbilang kaum di Malaysia tentang kaunseling, isu kerahsiaan, bias, penggunaan
teknik dan alat kajian, kelayakan kaunselor dan halangan dari segi penggunaan bahasa.
Secara amnya kertas ini cuba mengupas isu-isu etika yang lazim berlaku dalam pengendalian
kaunseling kelompok berbilang budaya.

Introduction

Multicultural counseling is becoming an important element of counseling practice today. It

seems impossible for counselors to avoid counseling clients who are culturally different from
them. Even in the United States, the estimated numbers of racial ethnic minorities will make
up the majority of the US population by 2030. Meanwhile in Malaysia, our population is
made up of different races and cultures. Therefore it is important for counselors to be aware
of the multicultural differences in society to ensure effectiveness of counseling sessions, thus
upholding the principle of beneficence and justice for all clients.

Counselors need a socio-cultural framework to work with clients from diverse cultural
backgrounds. The need for knowledge and skills for multicultural assessment and
intervention includes the ability to:

 Recognize cultural diversity

 Understand the role that culture and ethnicity/race plays in the socio-psychological
and economic development of ethnic and culturally diverse populations
 Understand that socioeconomic and political factors significantly impact the
psychosocial, political and economic development of ethnic and culturally diverse
groups
 Help clients to understand/maintain/resolve their own socio-cultural identification;
and
 Understand the interaction of culture, gender and sexual orientation on behaviors and
needs.

(American Psychological Association (APA), 1991)

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The Growth of Group Counseling

The group is usually seen as the microcosm of society, consisting of values, belief systems
and behaviors the members bring along with them from the 'outside world'. The growth of
group activities has been significantly recognized in our country. Among the types of groups
conducted are educational, motivational, support, rehabilitation and counseling groups. These
are conducted either by specific institutions, organizations, professional bodies or individual
counselors. Although participation is encouraging, questions arise regarding effectiveness of
the group and the competency of individuals conducting it. However, this paper will only
discuss the effectiveness of group counseling and the competency of counselors from the
ethical point of view.

Effectiveness of Group Counseling

Group counseling enables counselors to outreach to a larger number of clients at any

particular time. It also allows participants to share their feelings, opinions and views of the
world with each other. Thus, group counseling can benefit both counselors and clients. In a
multicultural group setting, however, some communication barriers may arise due to
diversity of clients' backgrounds, cultures and languages.

The ethical consideration here would largely focus on the counselor's ability to conduct the
session as effectively as possible to ensure all members receive an equal but unique treatment
based on their cultural acceptance. In the ethical guidelines by the Association of Specialists
in Group Work (ASGW, 1989), group counselors are required to make every reasonable
effort to treat each member individually and equally. In addition, group counselors are to
recognize and respect the differences (e.g. cultural, racial, religious, lifestyle, age, disability
and gender) among group members. This basically means that group counselors must be
sensitive to the elements of differences, and should understand, plan and act accordingly.

The Need to Educate

According to the APA Office of Ethnic Minorities Affairs (1991), psychologists need to
educate their clients about the process of psychological intervention such as goals and
expectations, the scope and, where appropriate, legal limits of confidentiality and the
psychologists' intervention. This is similar to the ethical guidelines of ASGW (1989)
whereby group counselors must adequately prepare prospective or new members by
providing as much information about the existing or proposed group as necessary.

In the Malaysian context, group members need education regarding the functions of the
group itself since there is still lack of exposure to group counseling. Not much information is
publicly known about the group counseling process, the roles and responsibilities of leaders
and members and the ethics underlying group counseling. Our multicultural society still
prefers to discuss problems within the family and little consideration is given to having 'an
outsider' to help with our personal problems. Malaysiari counselors thus need to go the

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extra mile to ensure members have full understanding of the process to help in self-
development of clients during and after the counseling process. This is also related to the
principle of informed consent whereby participants fully understand the procedures, enter the
relationship voluntarily and have the capacity to undergo the process.

Issue of Confidentiality

One of the crucial issues is the confidentiality of the group counseling process. The members
might be unaware that they are protected by the concept of confidentiality. In tum,
confidentiality is often seen as the basis for trust. Without trust, clients might not fully
participate in the process, thus precluding maximum benefit. In group counseling, counselors
must educate clients about the limitations of confidentiality since the extent to which
confidentiality is guaranteed in group counseling will not be the same as in individual
counseling.

As in individual counseling, the counselor has the right to breach confidentiality and report to
the responsible authorities in cases involving clear and imminent danger to the client or
group members. However, during group counseling an additional precaution is taken by
creating an understanding between the members regarding the need to protect session
confidentiality. The members are responsible for ensuring they will not breach the
confidentiality of others' sharing. This is mainly because the counselor or leader can only
ensure confidentiality on his/her part and not on the part of the members.

Confidentiality protection is particularly important in the context of our society since we are
relatively 'trained' and perhaps required by religion not to expose our personal problems -
especially marital and family problems - to others. These are regarded as sensitive issues
which should be dealt with personally. Clients therefore face a dilemma whether or not to
share these issues with others. If session confidentially can be reasonably guaranteed, clients'
doubts can be reduced and sharing will be encouraged. Group members' education towards
awareness is the only tool to ensure confidentiality.

Cultural Biases

According to Sue and Sue (1999), an ethical practice of counseling demands three things of a
counselor. Firstly, counselors must be aware of their own racial and cultural biases and
assumptions. Secondly, counselors need to reach out and understand the cultural values and
biases of different cultures and lastly, they must begin to develop culturally appropriate
counseling practice. This is similar to article 7 of the Ethical Guidelines for Group
Counselors (ASGW, 1989) which states that group counselors should develop an awareness
of their own values and needs and the potential impact they have on the interventions likely
to be made.

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It is nearly impossible not to have our own values and biases even as counselors. In
counseling multicultural groups, the counselor will definitely experience some clashes
between hislher own values with those of the members. The members have no obligation to
discard their values during the session and are free to act in as genuine a manner as possible.
Counselors can also be genuine by being aware of their own cultural values and biases.
However, counselors must ensure their values do not affect their efficiency as group
counselors. In the ethical guidelines of ASGW (1989), under 7 (e) it is stated that

group counselors take steps to increase their awareness of ways that their personal
reactions to the members might inhibit the group process and they monitor their
counter transference. Through an awareness of the impact of stereotyping and
discrimination (i.e. biases based on age, disability, ethnicity, gender, race, religion or
sexual preference) group counselors guard the individual rights of all group
members.

Another challenge for counselors is to reach out and understand the cultural biases and values
of different cultures. For example, a Malay counselor might not be able to understand the
Hindu concept of reincarnation and this might lead to misconception. A counselor might also
be offended due to contradicting religious values and beliefs. To handle such situations, the
counselor has to search for additional information about other cultures or religions and accept
the differences in a non-judgmental manner. The counselor can also explore cultural
differences with the client in the group. This will benefit other group members by increasing
their knowledge of cross-cultural differences. But this task will demand additional time and
work from the counselor.

The counseling methods and techniques used by Malaysian counselors are largely based on
western orientation and lifestyles. Although Malaysia is reaching developed country status,
certain values and beliefs - for example, the concept of gender differences - are still upheld in
our culture. The women still uphold the tradition of being polite and gentle while men are
more dominant and aggressive. In counseling (from the western point of view), eye contact is
considered an important gesture in building relationship. However in our society, especially
Malay society, women usually avoid long eye contact. This should not be taken as a sign of
non-cooperation but a sign of politeness and respect.

Nevertheless, within Malaysian society itself, the level of importance of values may differ.
Even participants' interaction style in a mix-gendered group will differ significantly from that
in a single-gendered group; the dynamics of group counseling will be affected. Interaction
patterns also differ due to variations in parenting styles, or economic and educational status
in a multicultural society. Therefore, the counselor must be adaptable and skilled in
facilitating the group such that participants are not forced to act against their will. This
requires patience from the counselor who should learn from the different interaction patterns.
The counselor must let the group dynamic evolve on its own rather than expecting the group
to move as he/she expects.

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Use of Counseling Techniques

Conducting a multicultural counseling group clearly presents a greater challenge to the

counselor. Besides the earlier challenges mentioned, problems may occur in terms of approaches
and techniques. According to Sue and Sue (1999), culturally effective counselors are truly
eclectic. They use skills, methods and techniques that are appropriate to the experience and
lifestyle of the culturally different. However, looking at counseling practice in Malaysian
society, most of the approaches are based on western culture. These sometimes do not fit into the
needs of our society due to the differences in values, beliefs and opinions.

An example can be taken from the Rational Emotive Therapy (RET) group approach by Ellis (in
Gazda, 1982) which stated that

group members are urged in regular sessions and during rational encounter sessions, to push
themselves as much as possible, to reveal their utmost uncomfortable feelings, and to bring out
their serious problems. They are also encouraged to try to get others to reveal themselves, and to
refrain from politely letting inhibited and untalkative members get away with this kind of
unrevealing behaviour.

In some aspects, this approach seems to go against the ethics of counseling, whereby participants
should not be pressured by other group members to conform to group demands. In the context of
our society, a more subtle way to deal with problems is usually preferred compared to this RET
approach. Consideration should be given since some cultures in our society are not open enough
to these kinds of experiences that require a great capability to express our deepest feelings to
others.

Other techniques from the west such as hugging, touching and mixing between different genders
in group counseling might also be inappropriate in our society since they contradict certain
religious or cultural values. Counselors must be aware of the sensitive areas when conducting
group activities adopted from the west. To ensure the ethical use of techniques, group counselors
need to be aware of the necessity to modify their techniques to fit the unique needs of various
cultural and ethnic groups (ASGW, 1989).

Counselor Competency

If counselors of a multicultural group need to be eclectic, are they competent enough to conduct
an eclectic counseling group for the culturally different? Have they been adequately supervised
while using the methods during training? Under Principle 2 of the Ethical Principles of
Psychologists (APA, 1981 a) it is clearly outlined that

psychologists recognize differences among people such as those that may be associated with age,
sex, socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds. When necessary they obtain training, experience or
counsel to ensure competent service or research relating to such persons.

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Counselors should not attempt any method or technique unless trained in its use and supervised
by someone familiar with the technique. If counselors do not meet the requirement of training
and supervision, they might fall into malpractice. Under Section C of the Codes of Ethics and
Standard of Practice (ACA, 1985), counselors must only practise within the boundaries of their
competence. Practising a new approach, as eclectic as it may be, can lead to malpractice if the
counselors are not competent and do not have the appropriate skills to deal with the outcomes.
Participants might be guided wrongly and the result could be greater harm than before entering
the group.

Competency issues also arise when psychological testing tools are used on the group. Most
psychological tests were developed by western psychologists and measured based on the western
standard. They cannot simply be used in our multicultural society without appropriate
modifications. The Code of Ethics of the National Board for Certified Counselors (1989)
specified that

certified counselors must proceed with caution when attempting to evaluate and interpret
performances of minority group members or the persons who are not presented in the norm
group in which the instrument was standardized. ( Section C (12) )

Therefore, assessment regarding the reliability, validity and usability of the testing tools must be
made to ensure these tools meet the standards of our society as a whole or the standards of the
different cultures existing in society.

Since psychological testing can result in psychological risks, the counselors have to be aware as
to how much information should be revealed to the group members and how much should be
discussed individually. Because many types of assessment techniques exist, certified counselors
must recognize the limits of their competence and it is an ethical responsibility of counselors to
perform only those functions for which they have received appropriate training (NBCC, 1989).

Lee (1991) stated that counselor educators must ensure they are not training tomorrow's
counselors with outmoded techniques that fail to address the multicultural component of
counseling. Since most counselors have yet to receive adequate training to become effective
multicultural counselors, they need a certain degree of consultation from other professionals.
Under article 12(d) of the ASGW ethical guidelines (1989), group counselors must seek out
consultation and/or supervision regarding ethical concerns when encountering difficulties that
interfere with their effective functioning as group leaders. Until the counselors are totally
equipped to practise certain techniques adaptable to our multicultural society, consultation and
supervision are necessary to avoid breaching counseling ethics.

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The Role of Co-Leaders

To help the counselor be as ethical as possible in conducting a multicultural group, a coleader

with a different cultural background can be appointed. Referring to the ethical guideline in
ASGW under article 8(d),

if a large group is planned, counselors consider enlisting another qualified professional to serve
as co-leader for the group session.

Co-leading enables counselors to monitor and facilitate the multicultural group more effectively.
The leader and co-leader must be qualified professionals trained in dealing with multicultural
diversity. Having a co-leader who can handle multicultural issues will take care of the need for
referrals should the need arise. To avoid maleficence to the group, both counselors must share
the understanding of each other's values and cultural biases before conducting the group.

Overcoming Language Barriers

Besides values and beliefs, language barriers could create problems in multicultural group
counseling. Two of the most common problems in multicultural group counseling are to
understand and be understood. Sometimes the problem lies in the context in which certain words
are used by participants from different cultural backgrounds. Language barrier thus represents a
major communication problem since messages are not properly given and received.

Language should not be a reason for limiting personal growth, and counselors should try to
ensure effective communication throughout the group session and clarify any misunderstanding.
Since communication also includes body language, and different cultural backgrounds may cause
different types of body language presentation and interpretation, counselors must educate
themselves with the special knowledge on body languages of different cultures. The ethical
guidelines in fact require counselors to upgrade their knowledge and skill competencies through
educational activities, clinical experiences and participation in professional development
activities (ASGW, 1989).

Conclusion

Looking at all the ethical requirements outlined in this article, it can be seen that group
counselors have numerous responsibilities in counseling group members. However, the most
important element is for counselors to be aware of the unique differences between individuals
and respect these accordingly during group counseling. Once this awareness is embedded in the
counselor's mind and acted upon, prospective members need not hesitate in joining the group.
The responsibility, therefore, rests on counselors to observe equality, and ensure justifiable and
ethical methods in group counseling.

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 References

American Association for Counseling and Development (1981). Ethical standards (Rev.
Ed.) Alexandria, VA: Author.

American Counseling Association (1985). Code of ethics and standards of practice.

Alexandria, VA: Author.

American Psychological Association (1981 a). Ethical principles of psychologists (Rev. Ed.),
Washington, DC: Author.

Association for Specialists in Group Work (1989). Ethical guidelines for group leaders.
Alexandria, VA: Author.

Gazda, G.M. (Ed.) (1982). Basic approaches to group psychotherapy and group counseling
(3rd ed.). Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.
Lee, C. c., & Richardson, B. L. (Eds.) (1991). Multicultural issues in
counseling: New approaches to diversity. Alexandria, VA:
American Counseling Association.
National Board for Certified Counselors (1989). Code of ethics. Alexandria, VA: Author.
Sue, D.W., & Sue, D. (1999). Counseling the culturally different: Theory and practice (3rd
ed.). New York: Wiley.

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