Empowerment strategies for a diverse society

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Empowerment strategies for a diverse society

• Community counseling

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Effective counseling paradigms

• Traditional counseling paradigm emphasizes
  individual client
• Shifting paradigms the rise of multiculturalism
• Improve the overall quality of mental health and
  social well-being

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Community counseling

• A comprehensive helping framework of intervention
  strategies and services, that promotes the
  personal development and well-being of all
  individuals and communities
• Community counseling model comprises four service
  components a) direct client, b) indirect client,
  c) direct community, d) indirect community

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RESPECTFUL Counseling

• Religious /spiritual identity
• Economic class background
• Sexual identity
• Psychological maturity
• Ethnic /racial identity
• Chronological /development challenges
• Trauma or other threats
• Family background and history
• Unique physical characteristics
• Location of residence and language differences

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Basic assumptions

• Environment
• Empowerment
• A multifaceted approach to helping
• Multicultural counseling considerations
• Emphasis on prevention
• Applicability in a variety of settings

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The role of the community counselor

• The individual and the environment
• A multifaceted approach within a multicultural
  society
• Promoting prevention

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model program
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Preventive education

• Educate or train the population at large
• Voluntary education
• Values-clarification seminars
• Assertiveness training
• Decision making and life planning workshops

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Outreach and counseling for vulnerable populations

• Providing outreach services to people identified
  as needing personal assistance but who cannot or
  will not access the existing mental health system
• Provide a variety of career, family, academic,
  and personal counseling services

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Influencing public policy

• Counselor attempt to respond to the needs of all
  community members, particularly the most
  vulnerable people
• Counselors to get involved in community action is
  promote systemic changes by influencing public
  policy

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Client advocacy and consultation

• Counselors must become advocates, speaking up on
  their clients behalf and actively intervening in
  their clients surroundings
• Counselors encourages such clients to help
  themselves, tries to boost their sense of
  independence and effectiveness, and helps them
  utilize available community resources

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Applications
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Elementary and secondary school
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Colleges and universities
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Managing the community counseling program

• Needs assessment
• Goals setting
• Decision making
• Planning for implementation