TPC-Journal-V4-Issue1

79 The Professional Counselor \Volume 4, Issue 1 seling sessions. James responds that he wants to feel safe and respected so that he can share his views without judgment. The counselor then seeks to create this type of environment using the tenets of mutual empathy and authenticity. Counselors should be aware of power-over structures, which can alter how relationships are perceived. When counselor educators teach students to employ multicultural awareness, it is important to remind students of how existing societal structures may determine how students form relationships with members of society. RCT asks that counselors analyze client relationships and how they contribute to functioning with regard to positive and negative aspects of various relationships. Counselors can inquire about the important relationships in their clients’ lives and whether these relationships are mutually beneficial. Mutual empathy and authenticity. While less emphasized in multicultural courses, counselor educators who teach counseling technique courses have the opportunity to reinforce multicultural skill development. Empathy development is taught as a foundational skill in counseling techniques courses, which begins during the initial phases of relationship development. Using RCT, counselor educators can teach the advanced skill of mutual empathy to help deepen the relationship between client and counselor. In order to move from disconnection to connection, the counselor attempts to create a supportive environ- ment using the RCT concepts of mutual empathy and authenticity by reaffirming the client’s story and attempt- ing to accurately reflect the client’s emotion. When the client shares something that was particularly difficult, the counselor reflects feeling and shows appreciation for the client’s strength in addressing a difficult issue. In order to demonstrate mutual empathy, the counselor shares how he has been affected by James’s disclosure and asks how he feels about that action. James affirms being heard and respected, qualities that are necessary for mutually beneficial connection. For example, after James shares a particularly difficult story regarding feeling frustrated by others making decisions for him, the counselor re-affirms his story through empathic response, but then uses mutual empathy to ask how it feels to hear that his frustration is understood. Using RCT allows the client to feel that he is truly understood, and evidence of a more robust therapeutic alliance is seen through James’s increased willingness to share and explore themes. Implications for Counselor Educators Counselor educators have done much to incorporate multicultural development into counseling curricula. Through CACREP and ACA standards, counselor educators have received a blueprint for developing multi- culturally competent practitioners. Counselor educators also have an established method of training through microskills, which are used to help students learn the building blocks of counseling. However, at this time very few counseling theories have sought to bridge both multicultural development and microskills training. The purpose of this article is to provide a tool for counselor educators to help integrate the TM, (aware- ness, knowledge, skills) into classroom instruction using microskills training. The TM and RCT have concepts that mirror each other and that, when combined, can create a practical framework for students in progressing toward multicultural competence. When microskills training is used as a vehicle for instruction, students will have a tangible and discrete set of skills to use with diverse clients which may increase self-efficacy, improve the counseling relationship and improve treatment outcomes. Using RCT in multicultural coursework provides counselor educators with an educational tool to better apply the TM and meet the need to increase the emphasis of skills in multicultural courses. Counseling using RCT principles includes bringing meaning to the client’s relationships and exploring his or