ABSTRACT
The field of multicultural counseling and therapy has been steadily growing in the last 25 years due to important and rapid societal changes around the world (e.g., Gielen, Fish, & Draguns, 2004; Hays & Iwamasa, 2006; Pedersen, Draguns, Lonner, & Trimble, 2002; Sue & Sue, 2003). The first source of societal change is globalization and the increase in frequency of direct and indirect cross-cultural interpersonal encounters that are facilitated by advanced technologies of transportation and telecommunications. The second source of change is the worldwide waves of migrations. Within the United States, large-scale immigrations from Latin America and Asia have contributed to ethnic diversity. According to the U.S. Census (U.S. Census Bureau, 2002), the minority population grew 11 times as rapidly as the non-Hispanic White population between 1980 and 2000. From 1980 to 2000, the percentage increases in the Asian and Pacific Islander population were 204% and for the Hispanic population, 142%. As a result, in the United States, the minority population increased from 20% in 1980 to 31% in 2000 with a corresponding decrease in the White non-Hispanic population. Today, the multicultural nature of society is a permanent feature and the cultures of the world have gained in complexity. Diversity has become an everyday word to characterize the world we live in today.
