426 The Professional Counselor | Volume 13, Issue 4 fewer resources than lighter-skinned immigrants entering the United States (Cuevas et al., 2016). In addition to having fewer economic and social resources available to them, the shared experience of migration as a Black person in the United States may predispose clients with these intersecting identities to experience mistrust toward health care workers and others working for government institutions in general (Mancini & Farina, 2021). As a result, they may be reluctant to seek help from licensed professionals or even engage in health-promoting behaviors. Although it is important for counselors working with this population to engage in cultural encounters that allow clients to define their own experiences of living in the United States as a Black Latinx person, it is also important for the counselor to understand that institutionalized beliefs about Black people and immigrants in the United States can represent significant challenges for the counseling process and clients’ growth. As such, the CFI supports the counselor in developing respect for the client’s worldview, understanding the ways in which this worldview aligns—or does not align—with their own worldview, and accepting the client as they are to engage in a nonjudgmental and growth-promoting working alliance. In the case study, Allison used the CFI to examine key elements of the client’s worldview, particularly as it related to the cultural definition of the problem and perceptions of the causes and context. For example, the client’s concealment of his help-seeking behaviors from some family and friends may be a key point of entry for the counselor’s interventions. Through a closer examination of Martin’s concealment, Allison may gain a greater understanding of her client’s worldview while simultaneously challenging her own biases regarding her beliefs. At the intrapersonal and interpersonal intervention levels, Allison can seek additional awareness and knowledge about the migration experiences of Black Latinx populations through research, supervision, and consultation. At the institutional and community intervention levels, Allison could advocate to increase the awareness of her coworkers and the larger counseling field regarding this population, including specific needs and barriers to consider when working with Afro Latinx immigrants. Counseling Relationship Counselors need to develop an appreciation of the unique aspects of the counseling relationship by building on the gained awareness and understanding of themselves and their clients in addition to considering the unique status of their clients and how they are impacted by membership in marginalized and privileged groups—which in turn impacts how the client relates to others and the counselor (Ratts et al., 2016; Singh, Appling, & Trepal, 2020). With this gained awareness of the client’s worldview and lived experiences, counselors must authentically engage with their Afro Latinx clients and demonstrate unconditional acceptance of the clients and what they bring into the counseling relationship. Because of the unique social statuses of counselor (who may experience a high degree of privilege) and client (who may experience a level of oppression based on the intersection of identities—race x ethnicity x immigration status), the client–counselor relationship requires significant attention from both parties involved. As the counselor is expected to have an awareness of the dynamics of power and privilege both within and outside the counseling environment, it is the counselor’s responsibility to initiate the discourse regarding these dynamics with the clients. Allison is guided by the awareness of the levels of privilege and marginalization present in the counseling space as emphasized by the MSJCC and put into practice with the CFI. Allison moved beyond this level of awareness by assessing cultural factors affecting current help seeking. The use of the CFI assisted Allison in building the client–counselor relationship but also empowered Martin to collaborate in the direction of their treatment. It should be noted how the CFI instrument in and of itself encapsulates the concept of broaching in counseling, whereby a counselor discusses “those racial, ethnic, and cultural issues that are relevant to a client’s presenting concerns” (Day-Vines et al., 2021, p. 348).
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