Social and Cultural Diversity on the NCE: Preparation Guide

Social and Cultural Diversity on the NCE

Social and Cultural Diversity is the second CACREP content area, contributing 20 scored questions to the National Counselor Examination. This area assesses your knowledge of multicultural counseling competencies, cultural identity development, the impact of systemic oppression, and strategies for providing culturally responsive services. Given the increasing emphasis on diversity in the counseling profession, this section carries significant weight.

Multicultural Counseling Competencies

Derald Wing Sue and his colleagues developed the Multicultural Counseling Competencies framework, which identifies three domains counselors must develop:

• Awareness of own assumptions, values, and biases: Counselors must examine their own cultural conditioning and recognize how it affects their perceptions of clients from different backgrounds
• Knowledge of the worldview of culturally diverse clients: Counselors must understand the histories, experiences, and cultural values of the populations they serve
• Development of culturally appropriate intervention strategies: Counselors must be able to adapt their approaches to meet the cultural needs of diverse clients

Each domain includes beliefs and attitudes, knowledge, and skills components, creating a nine-cell matrix that is frequently referenced on the NCE.

Racial and Ethnic Identity Development Models

Cross's Nigrescence Model

William Cross developed a model of Black racial identity development with five stages: Pre-encounter (acceptance of dominant culture values), Encounter (experience that challenges existing identity), Immersion-Emersion (immersion in Black culture), Internalization (secure identity and openness to other cultures), and Internalization-Commitment (commitment to social justice).

Helms's White Racial Identity Model

Janet Helms proposed a model of White racial identity development with six statuses: Contact, Disintegration, Reintegration, Pseudo-Independence, Immersion-Emersion, and Autonomy. This model describes the process by which White individuals move from racial obliviousness to a nonracist identity.

Atkinson, Morten, and Sue's Racial/Cultural Identity Model

This model applies to all minority groups and includes five stages: Conformity (preference for dominant culture), Dissonance (questioning of dominant culture values), Resistance and Immersion (rejection of dominant culture), Introspection (questioning the basis for resistance), and Integrative Awareness (appreciation of self and other cultures).

Key Concepts in Multicultural Counseling

Several concepts appear frequently in NCE questions about diversity:

• Acculturation: The process of adapting to a new culture while maintaining aspects of the culture of origin
• Enculturation: The process of learning one's own culture
• Microaggressions: Brief, commonplace verbal or behavioral slights that communicate negative messages to members of marginalized groups
• Intersectionality: The interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, gender, and sexuality
• Privilege: Unearned advantages that members of dominant groups receive based on their social identities

Culturally Responsive Counseling Practices

The NCE tests your ability to apply multicultural knowledge in practice. This includes adapting communication styles, understanding the role of family and community in different cultures, recognizing culturally specific expressions of distress, using interpreters effectively, and avoiding the imposition of Western values on non-Western clients.

Working with Specific Populations

Be prepared for questions about counseling with immigrant and refugee populations, religious and spiritual diversity, socioeconomic factors in mental health, disability and ableism, gender identity and sexual orientation, and the intersection of multiple cultural identities.