Cultural Responsiveness in Rehabilitation Counseling
摘要
Rehabilitation counseling is a field and practice that is foundationally predicated on social justice in which individuals with chronic illness and disability (CID) are to be treated respectfully and with dignity. Because persons with CID are influenced by their unique cultural experiences, cultural responsiveness in counseling is critical in the understanding of how expectations of each culture are likely to affect how services are received and offered. In addition, persons with CID who are from ethnically diverse groups or sexual minority groups also experience life with the influence of colonialism, marginalization, and (de)privilege. Rehabilitation counselors must first be aware of the impact of historic and systemic barriers to service delivery for culturally diverse groups and then be culturally responsive in their practice to reduce bias, minimize marginalization, and improve service outcomes of persons with CID from culturally diverse and intersectional backgrounds.