Preparing Counselors of Color:
Addressing Differences in Counselor Education and Supervision Practice
People of color make up a small percentage of both those receiving mental health and addiction services and of mental health practitioners (e.g., counselors, psychologists, psychiatrists and social workers). Due to the disparity among mental health practitioners of color and the patient population, education, training and supervision in cultural competence are imperative. As counselor educators who mainly educate and supervise counselors of color (COCs) and counseling students of color (CSOCs), the presenters have found that they have unique areas of cultural competence that need to be addressed. Several CSOCs report ill feelings, anger and even depression as it relates to experiences in which they have been discriminated against, oppressed and treated unfairly because of their race. Some report negative interracial relationships, experiences and media messages, which may result in mistrust, dislike, envy and even hatred of whites and other people of color. Some mental health professionals also face challenges in educating and supervising COCs and CSOCs due to their own level of cultural competence and lack of training in addressing these issues.
This webinar will provide knowledge, strategies and techniques that will assist counselors, supervisors and counselor educators who work with CSOCs as well as address potential barriers. Furthermore, this webinar will briefly outline the results of a review of multicultural textbooks used in counseling programs and their inclusion of content specifically targeted at developing the unique areas of cultural competence for CSOCs.
Participants will be able to:
- Learn about the unique areas of cultural competence that counselors of color (COCs) and counseling students of color (CSOCs) face.
- Become familiar with strategies and techniques that will be helpful in assisting COCs and CSOCs to navigate the challenges they might have in working with whites and/or other people of color.
- Learn about ways to address the barriers that COCs face when training and supervising.
- Be introduced to the research findings of the review of multicultural textbooks that may be helpful in preparing COCs and CSOCs with their development as culturally competent practitioners.
Kyla Marie Kurian, Ph.D., NCC
Kyla Marie Kurian is an assistant professor at North Carolina Central University, where she teaches in the counselor education program in the Department of Allied Health Professions. Dr. Kurian earned her doctorate in counseling from North Carolina State University. Following graduation, Dr. Kurian spent three years as a National Institute on Drug Abuse postdoctoral fellow, where she received advanced training in the research areas of substance abuse and HIV interventions. Dr. Kurian’s research focuses on understanding the effects of oppression on the identity development of black and Coloured South African women and addressing the differences in preparing counselors of color in counselor education and supervision practice.
Dr. Kurian was awarded a Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) grant from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to adapt an evidence-based HIV intervention for African-American college women. Most recently, Dr. Kurian headed a team of researchers who were awarded a 2014 Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES) research grant.
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