Metacognition & Brown

The Byars-Winston and Fouad article brings relevant issues to mind as it reminds us of the importance of cultural issues in counseling. It is certainly true that our perception and understanding of the world is filtered through our own cultural lens, making it important for us to consciously take efforts to explore differences among cultures in order to become an effective counselor. Various cultures present very complex issues. In order to foster insight among clients that we are counseling, we must have an understanding of issues relevant to clients within that culture. At times, overconfidence may become an issue, as a counselor may think their interventions are effective when they are not; however, this becomes an issue in any therapy context, not just multiculturally. This article raises important issues, but most of it appears to be common sense. Metacognition is crucial in any facet of life really. We must monitor our own thinking and engage in self-awareness and self-control in order to be successful and efficacious in any setting.

I enjoyed the partner activity last class as we evaluated career alternatives for our case study clients. I think it may have been helpful if we had reviewed the conclusions we reached or discussed the other cases as a class. I’m wondering if we reached a reasonable conclusion. Is there a right or wrong answer? I think these career tools are useful, and I think it would have been great if I had been introduced to these tools earlier on at a personal level, rather than during my graduate program where I have already chosen a career pathway. These tools are less useful to me now, in my current position. These tools will be valuable in the future however, if I ever encounter a client grappling with a career change in the future.

Chapter four of Brown (2007) discusses the ethical considerations we must be aware of as both career and multicultural counselors. Naturally, we must be cognizant of differences among the clients we work with and how our own biases may influence our reactions or interventions. Ethical decision-making seems very obvious at a basic level but I have learned through my Ethics course at Millersville that many scenarios allow for some gray area where the resolution is not always so apparent.

Brown, D. (2012). Career information, career counseling, and career development (10^th ed). New York : Pearson Education, Inc.

 

Byars-Winston, A. M., & Fouad, N. A. (2006). Metacognition and multicultural competence: Expanding the culturally appropriate career counseling model. Career Development Quarterly, 54(3), 187-201.