Dimensions of Multicultural Counseling

Sara Schwarzbaum, EdD, LMFT, LCPC, is a retired Professor in the department of Counselor Education and a coordinator of the Master's in Couple and Family Counseling Program at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago. She is also the founder of Couples Counseling Associates in Chicago. She has a master's degree in clinical psychology from Buenos Aires, Argentina and doctoral degree in counseling with an emphasis in family therapy from Northern Illinois University.  She has written articles that have appeared in the Psychotherapy Networker, Counseling Today and other publications. She is a consultant, trainer, and presenter at state and national conferences where she frequently conducts workshops on clinical issues with Latino clients, the multicultural competency of clinicians, psychotherapy with immigrants and families, and marriage counseling.

Culture and Identity in Multicultural Counseling is a proposal to expand a T2 into a T1. This book is a collection of life stories of various individuals from different races, ethnic groups, religions, and social classes and the authors highlight important areas in the individuals' lives that had an impact on the formation of their cultural identity. The authors then analyze each story drawing out clinical applications for counselors and highlighting various techniques and interventions that are helpful with each individual. As the authors have promoted their current book, they have encountered instructors that have used it and have requested that the book be expanded to include the relevant theoretical material so it can be used as a main text. Their initial idea was to create a supplemental reader to go along with the current version, but we talked them into expanding it so it can be sold as a stand-alone textbook. The key advantage of using this text over its primary competitor would be that the book brings the course to life by using actual people as models with which to learn effective multicultural counseling.  In addition, the authors have developed a DVD that goes along with the book and would like to include it in the instructor's resource materials. The DVD would give us a major advantage over the competing text as it will demonstrate the counseling process in action with some of the individuals analyzed in the book.

PrefaceSECTION I. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKSCh 1. Multiculturalism, Theory and CompetenceCh 2. Oppression and ResilienceCh 3. Self in ContextSECTION II. DIMENSIONS OF RACE AND ETHNICITYCh 4. Julie¿s Story: So What if I¿m a Black Woman?Ch 5. Butch¿s Story: Who Am I?Ch 6. Betsie¿s Story: I Am 100 Percent JewishCh 7. Maribel¿s Story: When Are You Going to Have Kids?SECTION III: DIMENSIONS OF IMMIGRATION AND ACCULTURATIONCh 8. Vu¿s Story: I Am an AmericanCh 9. Esteban¿s Story: Still UprootedCh 10. Maria Luz¿s Story: Here We Are Not FreeCh 11. Teresäs Story: I Didn¿t Want to Go to Church on SundaySECTION IV: DIMENSIONS OF RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITYCh 12. Frank¿s Story: Hearing God¿s VoiceCh 13. Bob¿s Story: The Good Christian SonCh 14. Katie¿s Story: Catholic and Jewish? How Can It Be?SECTION V: DIMENSIONS OF SOCIAL CLASSCh 15. Carläs Story: One More MileCh 16. Anthony¿s Story: From Radical to Bohemian to Suit MeSECTION VI: DIMENSIONS OF SEXUAL ORIENTATIONCh 17. Karen¿s Story: Midlife Growing PainsCh 18. Transgender and Intersex SexualityCh 19. Rachel¿s Story: Nurturing the SpiritAppendixReferencesIndexAbout the AuthorsUsing Real Life Stories in Multicultural Counseling Courses