“Consider socio-cultural issues in a counselling case study.”
Cultural sensitivity and the ability to recognise diversity and cultural differences is an important part of effective counselling. This becomes more obvious and necessary when there is indeed a cultural difference between the counsellor and the client. One, before attempting to help others, should assess his personal worldview, and his awareness of different cultures and social structures. An important role in developing this awareness is the in depth knowledge and education. One cannot develop awareness if he does not know the existence of different cultural beliefs to his own. In the following fictional case study I will try to incorporate socio-cultural issues.
Case Study:
Maria is working as a senior software engineer in a technical company in London. She comes from Northern Spain and she moved to London to look for work as technical jobs were difficult to find in the area she is coming from. She is a well educated and very good looking young woman who loves her job. However she has difficulty in developing a life outside work and as the years pass by she gets panicky and more often than not she does not sleep properly. She sought help but the counsellor- a middle aged former housewife- failed to alleviate her symptoms. Maria was grown up in a society quite different to London. Her family is working to middle class. Her parents have always been there for her and have encouraged her to study and make something out for herself. They never discriminated her for being female and they supported her in taking a technical direction. However once in the London company she found herself to be the only female engineer around and her colleagues to treat her more as a pretty face and less as a highly skilled engineer. She also found that most of her colleagues were married or in relationships and that the culture in the UK is to avoid socialising weekends with single colleagues, something quite different...