DIGEST - Volume 10, Issue 3-FULL DIGEST

17 TPC Digest 17 | TPC Digest T he number of bilingual populations in the United States has nearly doubled since 1980. With this awareness, it is essential that counselors consider how they can best meet the needs of linguistically diverse clients. To assist counselors in gaining more knowledge of this population, a systematic review of the literature on bilingual counseling published from 2000–2019 was conducted. After carefully reviewing the abstracts of the 40 most relevant articles, 15 empirically based studies were included in this present study. The results are presented in three themes: client perspectives, counselor perspectives, and training and supervision. In the first theme, client perspectives, a few studies investigated the clients’ perceptions of language switching (either by choice or directed by counselors) and its effects on the counseling process and relationships. The findings revealed two impressions. First, the client’s language proficiency, dominance, and preference may not be fully assessed by counselors when working with bilingual/multilingual clients. Second, a strong therapeutic rapport can be created regardless of language and ethnic differences between the counselor and the client. T he second theme, counselor perspectives, addressed counselors’ perspectives on bilingualism in the counseling process and its impact on the therapeutic relationship. Some counselors reported feeling anxiety and discomfort using more than one language in sessions, which was attributed to receiving little to no training on bilingual counseling, being a novice counselor, or speaking a language that is not one’s native tongue. However, counselors in several studies also believed in the value of speaking in the client’s native language and found it helpful for building rapport with clients as well as facilitating deeper levels of clients’ self-expression and reflection. Counselors also spoke about the complexities of therapeutic relationships and outcomes in bilingual counseling settings in that the shared language by a counselor and a client does not always result in a positive relationship and outcome. T he findings in the theme of training and supervision suggested that bilingual counselors-in-training felt more connected with their clients as they shared the same language and perceived higher levels of multicultural counseling skills and awareness in themselves. However, counselors and counselors-in-training also expressed their concerns about a lack of training and supervision that they received in bilingual counseling. It is important to note that the keywords and databases used in this study might have excluded some studies on bilingual counseling and thus limited the findings in this study. With this in mind, a consensus among scholars seems to be that more studies are needed to understand the essential pieces of effective bilingual counseling with various language combinations. In particular, it is crucial to explore the nuances of language switching for both counselors and clients. Finally, it is recommended that training programs provide future counselors with essential preparation and supervision in bilingual counseling. Atsuko Seto, PhD, NCC, ACS, LPC, is an associate professor at The College of New Jersey. Nancy L. A. Forth, PhD, NCC, LPC, is a professor and program coordinator at the University of Central Missouri. Correspondence may be addressed to Atsuko Seto, 2000 Pennington Road, Ewing, NJ 08628, seto@tcnj.edu. Atsuko Seto, Nancy L. A. Forth What Is Known About Bilingual Counseling? A Systematic Review of the Literature