Open AccessA Counselor’s Cultural Identity: Implications from A Multicultural Counseling Perspective in Malaysia
Author(s) -
Ng Jia Ying,
Siti Aishah Hassan,
Dzilal Abdul Aziz
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
asian social science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1911-2025
pISSN - 1911-2017
DOI - 10.5539/ass.v17n11p18
Subject(s) - multiculturalism , cultural identity , ethnic group , cultural pluralism , cultural competence , sociology , indigenous , psychology , diversification (marketing strategy) , social psychology , gender studies , anthropology , pedagogy , feeling , ecology , biology , marketing , business
Malaysia is a country with a diversified cultural background, ethnicities, and religions. Islam is the most widely practiced religion, followed by Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, other traditional Chinese religions, as well as other indigenous religions. Despite the richness of the cultural landscape, the counseling services in Malaysia seem to be very limited in terms of diversification of multiculturalism. Cultural relevance of counselling theories, adaptation of Western-trained counseling services to suit a Malaysian culture, and multicultural counseling competencies, are among the concerns in the profession. This paper focuses on factors that shape a counselor’s identity based on their cultural background, and its implications on multicultural counseling in Malaysia. Among the important factors highlighted in this paper are religious beliefs and values, locus of control, gender, and personality. This paper encapsulates the importance of understanding a counselor’s cultural identity for the effectiveness of multicultural counseling in Malaysia.