Three Generations of Asian Counselors: The Role of Ethnic and Cultural Identity in Counseling Supervision

Overview Multidimensions of cultural Identity Introducing our own cultural identity Supervision experiences with supervisor/supervisee who are sharing similar cultural background Common Asian values & identity development process Application of supervision theory Discussion

Constantine Questions What are the main demographic variables that make up my cultural identities? What worldviews do I bring to the supervision relationship based on these cultural identities? What knowledge do I possess about the worldviews of supervisors/supervisees who have different cultural identities from me? What are some of my struggles and challenges in working with supervisors/supervisees who are culturally different from me? In what ways would I like to improve my abilities in working with culturally diverse supervisors/supervisees?

Our Cultural Identities Alison, Chinese American Immigrant Student Ji-yeon, Korean International Female Student Jerry, Chinese-English-American Psychologist

Our Cultural Identities Alison, Chinese American Immigrant Student Ji-yeon, Korean International Female Student Jerry, Chinese-English-American Psychologist

Our Cultural Identities Alison, Chinese American Immigrant Student Ji-yeon, Korean International Female Student Jerry, Chinese-English-American Psychologist

Negative Experiences Being “different” Being a visible minority Feeling marginalized, invisible, discounted Being stereotyped Being the victim of racial discrimination and prejudice Shame, pain, confusion

Positive Experiences Figuring out who I am Putting seemingly discrepant pieces together—integration Feeling pride in my cultural heritage Feeling connected to others with similar backgrounds Appreciating the richness of my heritage

Common Asian Values(Ho, 1992) Filial piety Shame Self-control Assumption of a middle position Awareness of social milieu Fatalism Inconspicuousness

Learning through Supervision Integrating cultural identity with professional identity Acceptance of diversity Identifying similarities and differences Empathic understanding Emphasis on genuine relationship Clarification of values, assumptions Sharing dimensions of culture

Examples Automatic empathic understanding. “I have had the same experience.” Sharing of experience. “Perhaps my story will help you deal with this challenge.” Role model. “I’m glad there’s someone here who has a similar background to me.” Counselor identity. “How can I or should I bring my identity into my counseling sessions?”

Means of Interpersonal Functioning (Ancis & Ladany, 2001) Adaptation: complacency, apathy, superficial understanding of differences Incongruence: Confusion, some awareness, lack of commitment Exploration: Strong emotions, e.g., anger, curiosity and insight Integration: integrative awareness and interpersonal proficiency

Supervision Relationship Types (Ancis and Ladany, 2001) Progressive Parallel-Advanced Parallel-Delayed Regressive

Discussion Questions What’s your most salient identity and how it played out in your supervisory relationship when your supervisor/supervisee was similar to yours vs. different How cultural identity influences the development of multicultural competencies in counseling and supervision What are some of my struggles and challenges in working with supervisors/supervisees who are culturally different from me? In what ways would I like to improve my abilities in working with culturally diverse supervisors/supervisees?

References Ancis, J., & Ladany, N. (2001). Multicultural supervision. In L. J. Bradley & N. Ladany (eds.), Counselor supervision: Principles, process, & practice (3 rd ed., pp. 63 ‑ 90). Philadelphia: Brunner ‑ Routledge. Constantine, M.G. (1997). Facilitating multicultural competency in counseling supervision: Operationalizing a practical framework. In D.B. Pope-Davis & H.L.K. Coleman (eds.), Multicultural counseling competencies (pp ). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Ho, M.K. (1992). Minority children and adolescents in therapy. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications Kim, J. (1981). The process of Asian American identity development: A study of Japanese ‑ American women’s perceptions of their struggle to achieve personal identities as Americans of Asian ancestry. Dissertation Abstracts International, 42, A (University Microfilms No, ) Kitano, H.L., &. Maki M. T. (1996). Continuity, change, and diversity: Counseling Asian Americans. In P.B. Pedersen et al. (eds.) Counseling Across Cultures (4th ed., pp. 124–45). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.