Culturally Responsive and Socially Just Engagement: An Emergent and Ongoing Process in Counselling Women

Abstract

Although descriptions of culturally responsive counselling are becoming more accessible, there are still limited examples of what this looks like in actual practice. While we do not want to claim final insights or authoritative voices, we wanted to take this opportunity to demonstrate what culturally responsive and socially just engagement might look like in the back-and-forth of a counselling conversation. Drawing on both the culture-infused counselling model (CIC; Collins & Arthur, 2010a, 2010b; see revised framework in Chap. 2) and our own experience, we offer an example of counselling a postsecondary student whose cultural identity may or may not challenge usual practices and assumptions. We do this first by showing a transcript sampling of four counselling sessions. After each session, we reflect on our own experience and consider how our theoretical orientation informs what we say and do. We then both reflect on our work, and, in the interest of recognizing multiple possible ways to practice, we reflect on the other’s contribution: what resonated and what we would do differently.