they do not make initial assumption

they do not make initial assumptions about individuals. They realize that each
client’s journey is unique and appreciate the importance of tailoring their
methods to fi t each individual.
Therapist empathy has moved far beyond simple “refl ection,” and therapists
now draw from a variety of empathic response modes (Bohart & Greenberg,
1997). Empathy is a pathway to making signifi cant connections with persons of
color, and it can be expressed and communicated either directly or indirectly.
Clients coming from certain cultures may not be comfortable with a direct expression
of empathy by the therapist, but there are many ways to demonstrate
an empathic grasp of the client’s subjective world and inner experiencing.
Glauser and Bozarth (2001) remind us to pay attention to the cultural identity
that resides within the client. They caution against making assumptions
about clients based on their cultural background or the specifi c group to which
they belong and recommend waiting for the cultural context to emerge from
the client. Glauser and Bozarth maintain that the use of specifi c techniques
often results in a “specifi city myth” that concentrates on specifi c treatments for
particular groups of people. They believe there has been too much emphasis
on how to do counseling rather than how to be a counselor.
Although the person-centered approach has made signifi cant contributions
to working with groups representing diverse social, political, and cultural backgrounds,
there are also some limitations to practicing exclusively within this
framework in community agency settings and outpatient clinics. Many of the
clients who come to a community mental health clinic or who are involved in
some other type of outpatient treatment may desire or need a more structured
group experience. This is especially true of short-term groups, open groups
with a rapidly changing membership, task-oriented groups, and groups composed
of culturally diverse populations. Clients from a lower socioeconomic
status often seek professional help to deal with some current crisis, to alleviate
psychosomatic symptoms, to learn certain coping skills (such as stress management),
or to fi nd solutions for pressing problems. These clients may expect
a directive leader who functions in an expert role as an authority, who offers
advice and recommends a specifi c course of action, and they may experience
diffi culty with a leader who does not provide the structure they want. Bohart
(2003) makes the point that the person-centered therapist is not an expert who
is going to tell the client the “right way of being.” Instead, the therapist is a
“fellow explorer” who strives to deeply understand the experiential world of
the client. In addition, the person-centered approach extols the value of an internal
locus of control and prizes self-determination and autonomy, whereas
some cultures place a value on an external locus of evaluation and do not place
a high priority on autonomy and self-direction.
More preparation and orientation may be called for than is usually the case
in a person-centered framework, especially in a group. As I have mentioned
previously, group members can benefi t from some orientation by the leader on
what the group is about and how best to participate. For example, in her expressive
arts groups, Natalie Rogers provides a general orientation for members,
which includes guidelines for their participation. Group members stand
a better chance of using the group process in a constructive way if they understand
what behavior is useful in the context of the group. Members can profi t
from a discussion of the general goals and procedures of group process and of
how the group might help them deal with their concerns.