Cross-Cultural Counseling in Theological Context

Abstract

Cross-cultural counseling is a specialty concerned with improving therapeutic effectiveness when the counselor and client represent different cultural or ethnic backgrounds. Unfortunately, consideration of cross-cultural issues has been greatly neglected in the Christian psychology literature. In response to the neglect, this article examines western cultural assumptions and four salient cross-cultural counseling themes: conceptions of mental health, goals of treatment, techniques of treatment, and roles of therapeutic participants. Five theological implications with respect to these issues are discussed.