It is important for a counselor's reaction to a client's family structure to remain unaffected by their own Eurocentric, nuclear-family orientation. What constitutes a family, based on a middle-
class Euromerican perspective affects many assessment forms and evaluation processes. (Sue and Sue, 2015) Therefore, to avoid imposing these beliefs on other families, MFT's must first recognize their own set of beliefs and values regarding appropriate roles and communication patterns within a family. (Sue and Sue, 2015) In Anthropology I learned in order to avoid this culture bias, one has to avoid assumptions about motivations and influences that are based on our
own cultural lens. Ethnocentrism is the mistaken view that one's personal culture is the correct one and is therefore imposable on other cultures. To minimize cultural bias, MFT's must move toward cultural relativism which requires one to metaphorically, take off their cultural goggles when observing a culture different from their own. Achieving complete cultural relativism is debatable, if it is even truly possible. Some might say, we will always be biased by our own cultural lens, but being aware that we are, can help minimize this. Maybe by showing unconditional positive regard to other viewpoints, gathering information through another culture's standards, and being cognizant of their own cultural assumptions are helpful in achieving this. Ways therapists can be culturally sensitive to this, is by asking the family about their family, not placing judgements on their answers, taking the family's view of family at face value, and incorporating those "technically" outside of the nuclear family, as part of the family's solar system, village, and genogram. This can simply be done by accepting their non-traditional family, as family. As someone from a Latin household, I already know of this "it takes a village" mentality, when it comes to non-traditional families, and therefore understand it a little more on a
personal level.
References
Sue, D. W., & Sue, D. (2015). Counseling the Culturally Diverse: Theory and Practice (7). Hoboken, US: John Wiley& Sons, Incorporated. Retrieved from Ebook Central (Proquest) database in the Touro library. Chapter 14 & Chapter 16
