Fortunately most counselors can overcome their biases and opinions of refugee populations by participating in intensive multicultural training. This training is rapidly becoming emphasized in social work circles whether or not a counselor plans to interact with refugees or not during the course of his or her lifetime. Multicultural training can also benefit counselors in traditional practice settings when working with diverse populations in general (Clark & Hofsess, 1998).
Need For Sensitivity
Counselors must be knowledgeable and sensitive to the needs of refugees for many reasons. For one working with refugees or immigrants by nature must be based on a foundation of "culturally competent practice" which includes a set of "beliefs, knowledge and skills" that enable a counselor to work closely with members of a culture different from that of the social worker (Potocky-Tripodi,...
It is important that counselors recognize that traditional techniques may need to be adapted to assist this population, so that the refugee population is able to acquire the care they need through specialized and focused counseling.
References
Clark, L., and Hofsess, L. 1998. Acculturation. In S. Loue, ed., Handbook of immigrant health. New York: Plenum, pp. 37-60.
Devore, W., and Schlesinger, E.G. 1999. Ethnic-sensitive social work practice (5th ed.).
Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Potocky-Tripody, M. (2002). Best practices for social work with refugees and immigrants. New York: Columbia University Press.
