“uses modalities and defines goals consistent with the life experiences and cultural values of clients, utilizes universal and culture-specific helping strategies and roles, recognizes client identities to include individual, group, and universal dimensions, and balances the importance of individualism and collectivism” (Sue & Torino, 2005, p. 6).
Being aware of attitudes, biases and faulty beliefs about other groups allows service providers to recognize when their culture is contradictory to that of the client's. Without recognition of a potentially biased view of other groups, service providers may be less effective in providing support, which may lead to client dropout.
Having an understanding about other cultural groups' norms, beliefs, attitudes and behaviours can allow service providers to more easily make appropriate decisions about how to support clients and use interventions that take clients' cultures into account. When service providers lack knowledge of other cultural groups, they may use stereotypes, which are often negative, invalid, or based on faulty perceptions, creating a barrier to an effective counselling relationship.
Skills important for working with clients of differing cultural backgrounds may involve finding ways to communicate with clients using different styles of thinking or information processing, or using external resources such as traditional healers. Cross-cultural counselling involves determining the most effective strategies and interventions for clients of varying cultural backgrounds. Culturally appropriate counselling skills are different from general counselling skills.
The concept of client-centred care promotes the idea that clients have an active role in the approach to their concerns and emphasizes the quality of the provider–client relationship. It includes aspects such as ensuring clients have autonomy and choice in achieving their goals, and that they are listened to and provided with information to facilitate their decision-making (Law et al, 1995). However, client-centred care has been debated in terms of its definition and implementation in practice (Whalley Hammell, 2013).
Some conceptions of client-centred practice may be less applicable to clients “whose cultures differ from dominant ‘norm'” (Ibid., p. 142). The idea of clients independently making decisions about their lives promotes a Western value of autonomy and individualism rather than one of reciprocity and interdependence, which may be more in line with many cultures (Whalley Hammell, 2013). The expectation that clients will identify and verbalize their needs can also be a biased view of how clients should behave.
Instead, it may be more useful to use a definition of client-centred care that includes being cross-culturally relevant and that promotes cultural humility on the part of service providers, to respect clients' culturally-based understanding of their lives. Such a definition would also recognize the effect of relative advantages or disadvantages, and the power and privilege clients experience due to social position (Ibid.).
There are aspects of client-centred care that may be relevant to newcomer clients. In providing services in a culturally sensitive manner, service providers “…should respect and value the client's expert knowledge of him or herself and recognize the importance of understanding the client's life experiences, expectations and goals” (Corring & Cook, 1999, p. 79). Rather than the service providers being viewed as the expert in the professional relationship, a client-centred relationship sees the client as the best source of information.