ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on why counselors need multicultural counseling competence as well as an understanding of social justice and appropriate intervention techniques. It explains that counselors should consider all forms of differences mentioned social class, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation. Another common barrier in multicultural counseling is presented when counselors expect clients to conform to the counselors' cultural standards and expectations. Effective and competent counselors in multicultural settings provide supportive environments for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, LGBT clients and also provide appropriate professional intervention. Similarly, lesbian or gay counselors should seek to understand heterosexist and the challenges these clients bring to counseling. The chapter explores a review of the psychotherapy literature on sex, gays, and lesbians as well as the most visible racial and cultural minority groups in the United States, including African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans.
