The history of the United States is varied and rich in unattractive sides. Unfortunately, the democratic ideals that circulate in society do not always correspond to the real state of affairs. Sometimes the gap between the ideal and the real world is so deep that only a few people with outstanding talents in government, social work, or medicine bridge it. In many ways, these people are creating democracy while the ‘silent majority’ is watching and taking sides. Psychological counseling in the US has never been truly democratic, nor was it really inclusive.
The problem of racial, class, gender, sexual, cultural, and ethnic inequality always divided society into winners and losers, leaders and outsiders. In the 21st century, social life continues to evolve, and in some areas, the ideal is approaching reality. Psychological counseling is one of the most advanced areas in social life, whose values, beliefs, and very fabric have changed dramatically in the last 60 years (Ludy & Crouse, 2002). This paper aims to analyze multicultural counseling in the United States and suggest what should the counseling profession do to help and assist people live in a society with dignity.
The Story of European Oppression Told by a non-European Director
The Darkness of Violent Colonization
The history of inequality, discrimination, and repression is, to a large extent, a history of class, racial, and ethnic inequality, while gender and other issues have come into the focus of revolutionary change fairly recently. In his film Exterminate All the Brutes, Raoul Peck presents an unforgettable picture of oppression exercised by the Europeans over the African and American continents (Peck, 2021). These parts of the history are at this point in time revised in the school curriculum and are presented with a tolerable amount of self-criticism. However, despite the recognition by the state of its mistakes, the echoes of propaganda that lasted for centuries remain in the form of prejudices and stereotypes.
Documentary film as a genre aims to present a broad, all-encompassing picture of the world and support positions that do not receive sufficient approval in society. Films such as Exterminate all the Brutes are needed, as they once again draw the attention of society to its problems. The historical suppression of African Americans, Africans, and Indigenous people and lingering prejudice are now vividly reflected in medical statistics, with these groups almost twice as likely to have diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke, or die from complications of COVID-19 (Bhala et al., 2020). Moreover, many racial and ethnic minorities – a term government officials have been trying to avoid lately – live in less favorable conditions, eat less well, attend less prestigious schools, and work harder jobs (Bhala et al., 2020). These arguments underline the need to continue the systematic work to eradicate prejudices and, more importantly, to provide quality services to the population.
Critics gave mixed reviews for Exterminate All the Brutes, while the film, released in April 2021 on HBO, garnered widespread public attention. Supporters appreciated the ongoing relevance of the topic, while critics noted the undue modes of expression. Critics say the director portrayed images of oppression, murder, and violence too vividly, which could traumatize some viewers and cause unwanted emotional reactions in those whom the film is intended to protect (Russel, 2021). Nevertheless, in spite of that, viewers have to face the fact that the violence depicted in the film is an honest portrayal of historical events, so unsightly that many viewers find the film emotionally traumatizing.
The plot of the first part of the film “The Disturbing Confidence of Ignorance” focuses on the conquest of the African continent by Europeans by fire, sword, and the word of God. Particularly impressive is the role of missionaries, who often belittled local religions, beliefs, and values and sought to eradicate them, replacing them with Christian ones. Such a blind imposition of alien ideas resonates with the director most, and he sarcastically displays a missionary preaching to a modern audience (Peck, 2021). Without reference to the obvious irony of this picture in the documentary, in the 21st century, the education system, health care, and law act exactly as unappealing missionaries of the 19th century, who blindly continue to defend their ideas and views.
The second part of the series named “Who the F*** is Columbus” is dedicated to the conquest of the North American continent by the Spaniards and the almost complete extermination of the Indigenous populations by the Europeans. This is a story of tears and pain, which today is desired to remain muted (Peck, 2021). The same missionaries and soldiers, with equal cruelty, exterminated the people who lived for centuries on the continent, which, until recently, American history has positioned as uninhabited.
These stories of genocide were bound to leave horrific scars on the lives and cultures of the few Indigenous groups that survived the massacres. Not surprisingly, many of these people continue to live on reservations – the remnants of the state that was rightfully theirs – and avoid contact with state systems as much as possible, including health care and education systems. In the last 20 years, the cultural situation began to change little by little. Be that as it may, the Indigenous people stubbornly maintain a national memory and identity that prompts them to continue to fight for a fair illumination of their role in the history of the continent. Beyond doubt, these people deserve social support, all sorts of benefits, special rights, and official recognition of the genocide against their ancestors.
Issues of Race, Ethnicity, and Genocide
In the third and fourth parts of the film, “Killing at a Distance or… How I Thoroughly Enjoyed the Outing,” and “The Bright Colors of Fascism,” the director turns to more contemporary themes of the arms race and the spread of fascism. Probably, for many Europeans, these series are especially valuable, as they present an alternative perspective on European history through the eyes of a director who has a distinct worldview. Raoul Peck describes the modern world and the history of the 20th century, when the topics of migration, trade, and armaments became especially relevant, presenting a picture of the US conquest of the whole world through primacy in industrialization.
The film director pays attention to the hard-hitting aspects of US involvement in World War II, including the bombing of civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which was recognized as genocide against the Japanese. In the fourth part, Raoul Peck discusses slavery, colonialism, Nazism, fascism, and white nationalism, linking these concepts as having a common denominator – Europeans (Peck, 2021). Likely, most scientists in the US and Europe do not think about the fact that the two world wars were unleashed by the Europeans. In this context, for an outside observer, speeches about the democracy and inclusiveness of Western society may seem hypocritical. Therefore, modern representatives of science and the public should probably recognize that Raoul Peck’s perspective is reasonable.
Modern psychological counseling, which has evolved partly for the benefit of the upper class and partly to implement the idea of equality between classes, remains focused on the white consumer with European roots. Issues of race and ethnicity cannot be equated with class, gender, or sexual inequality, as these problems have radically different causes. The tendency to blur the lines between racial and class inequalities is generally driven by the unwillingness of Europeans to acknowledge their role as oppressors and broaden their perspective. The study of literature and audiovisual works by authors of non-European origin provides an opportunity to truly change the socio-cultural relations in society.
Race or ethnicity is not the result of personal efforts and creates incomparably greater obstacles to social realization than class inequality. Therefore, multicultural psychological counseling should be perceived by insiders and outsiders not just as a newfangled trend but as an advanced field in psychology. Multicultural counseling studies the causes and effects of racial and ethical differences. Therefore, the scientific discourse in this field should focus on history, from looking at the larger historical picture to more personal stories of the local communities in which psychologists provide services.
What Can Psychologists Offer to the Multicultural Society?
‘Legalization’ of Psychology and Multiculturalism
The role of psychologists in society is significant since they are both doctors and social workers. Consequently, it is no coincidence that society has high hopes for multicultural counseling. Ideally, practitioners of such counseling can rely on the concepts of worldview difference and historical truth. Equally important, psychologists must understand their lawful role in protecting minorities. For the first time, psychological evidence was recognized as legally valid in the 1954 Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education (Ludy & Crouse, 2002). The case decision was to ban the separate education of Black and White students. According to the conclusion of psychologists, this ban was validated since “the policy of separating the races is usually interpreted as denoting the inferiority of the Negro group,” and “a sense of inferiority affects the motivation of the child to learn” (Ludy & Crouse, 2002). Presumably, such a conclusion can be considered fair and even incomplete if one recalls that schools for Blacks were also located in less prosperous areas and received significantly less funding.
The recognition of psychological evidence as having legal force has revolutionized society, and the public, especially the supporters of the ‘purely legal’ approach, discussed this event for a long time. Equally important, the American Psychological Association was divided within itself when many thoughtful members of the organization were forced to recognize the urgency of the problem of segregation and discrimination against Black members of the Association. The Brown v. Board of Education case gave such a strong impetus that the APA convention was moved from Miami to New York to avoid discrimination against Black delegations in hotels (Ludy & Crouse, 2002). Therefore, the field of jurisprudence, traditionally existing to protect the rights of people, became support for psychologists and extended a friendly helping hand, which forever changed the role of psychologists in modern US society.
Despite the initial strong push for development, the inert forces within the ranks of the APA proved resilient enough to resist change. The inclusion of psychological evidence in the Brown v. Board of Education case made an impression, but it was not sufficient for at least one of the members of the Association to comment on the event (Ludy & Crouse, 2002). Although attitudes towards African Americans in the Association have changed, counseling practices have remained the same. Multicultural counseling appeared much later and is still seen as aimed at combating any kind of inequality, not focusing on issues of historical truth and ethnic differences in worldviews.
The Need for a New Approach
Scholars have become more attentive to the issue of multiculturalism since the 1990s. Koltko-Rivera (2004) gives many definitions for concepts of worldview, values, and beliefs. In particular, the scholar defines worldview as “a set of assumptions about physical and social reality that may have powerful effects on cognition and behavior” (Koltko-Rivera, 2004, p. 3). The scholar also says that “a given worldview encompasses assumptions about a heterogeneous variety of topics, including human nature, the meaning and nature of life, and the composition of the universe itself” (Koltko-Rivera, 2004, p. 5). The special attention to the subjects’ understanding of nature and the forces that govern reality is not accidental. In many scientific articles, books, documentaries, and fiction films, these factors define differences between worldviews in different races, ethnic groups, and, accordingly, cultures.
In addition to presenting, analyzing, and describing theoretical dimensional models that measure reality, Koltko-Rivera (2004) introduces new worldview-related concepts and approaches. The division between Acting Self and Experiencing Self is particularly interesting. The author defines Acting Self as “the aspects of the self that are involved as impulse becomes behavior” and “include the motivational core, the worldview, the agentic core, the persona, and cognitive processes, and the acculturation buffer” (Koltko-Rivera, 2004, p. 39). At the same time, Experiencing Self is determined as “the aspects of the self that are involved when a stimulus interacts with the individual,” including “sensation, the acculturation buffer, the worldview, and the perceptual and conceptual core” (Koltko-Rivera, 2004, p. 38). It is noteworthy that for Acting Self, the main characteristic, transforming, and driving force is motivation, while for Experiencing Self, it is a feeling of belonging to the outside world, as free as worldview concepts can define it.
The three types of the worldview are described in the article: ‘descriptive’ or ‘existential beliefs,’ ‘evaluative beliefs,’ and ‘prescriptive beliefs’ or ‘values.’ Such a conceptual separation may be useful in developing a unique theoretical model for multicultural counseling. By way of illustration, ‘existential beliefs’ may be more related to the Acting Self, whereas the ‘evaluative’ and ‘prescriptive beliefs’ are more likely to define the Experiencing Self (Koltko-Rivera, 2004, p. 5). Taking into the account these two aspects of personality make up a whole – the person who receives a psychological counseling service.
On the grounds of this, psychologists’ understanding of multicultural worldviews can thus be integrated into existing popular theoretical models of counseling. For example, when providing services to people with specific mental or psychological problems such as autism, personality disorders, or schizophrenia. Less serious issues explored in family counseling, or counseling for children and adolescents, may also be focused on more effectively if the multicultural approach and related theoretical models are put into practice.
The development of new counseling models can consider these important characteristics to adapt multicultural psychological counseling. Interestingly, scholars note the need not only for adaptation but also for a complete change in the outlook of consultants. In particular, Fukuyama (1990) says that over the years, the profile of the typical beneficiary of psychological services has not changed – these are “young, White, educated, middle-class, and female” (p. 8). This indicates the need to develop fundamentally new approaches based on the restoration of historical justice and, more importantly, the restoration of identity and the right to self-determination for representatives of ethnic and racial minorities, including within the framework of remedying the consequences of the genocide.
Fukuyama (1990) in addition to this analyzes the common characteristics of all minorities, which can probably be used as a basis for creating theoretical models for multicultural counseling. It must be admitted that the consideration of ethnic and racial problems as an analog of class, sexual, or gender discrimination issues is only a stage in the development of scientific thought in multicultural counseling. Psychologists today should avoid returning to such integration and interpenetration.
A huge number of scientific works in all areas of social service delivery, including education and health care, puts the problems of class, gender, race, and ethnicity on a par, which is not so much wrong as an outdated approach. Both society and the scientific world have long been ready to accept and recognize the historical truth of the genocide and forced colonization carried out by Europeans against the inhabitants of the continents of Africa and North and South America.
The dominance of Europeans is widely recognized and should not give them the right to be placed above other races, ethnicities, and cultures. Critics of the documentary Exterminate All the Brutes emphasize the familiarity of the modern viewer with the issue: “Peck is not the first person to urge Western audiences to reconsider their place in history” (Russel, 2021, para. 10). As a direct consequence, the problem of restoring historical justice and dealing with the consequences of genocide and discrimination has long needed a solution.
Developing a Unique Multicultural Counselling Model
Therefore, general directions of how multicultural counseling may help society that is in psychological, social, cultural, and spiritual crisis are presented above. As a psychologist, I would develop a modern theoretical model for multicultural counseling. The main distinguishing feature of this model will be the focus on historical truth. However, this truth must not only be recognized but integrated into the consultant’s worldview (Koltko-Rivera, 2004). In other words, the implementation of such kind of a model should include a stage of educational training for consultants, for example, watching documentaries such as Exterminate All the Brutes. The second requirement of the theoretical model and the educational task is the study of the history of local racial and ethnic communities, which is even of the utmost importance for a correct understanding of the point at issue.
Analysis of statistical data, such as population health data under the latest qualification, can add to the overall picture and identify gaps in the provision of health services and psychological counseling. Notably, physicians and psychologists often work in pairs or at least share common goals in providing services to the population, so communicating experience and knowledge with local medical organizations can be extremely useful, which is the third requirement of the theoretical model. For example, studying up-to-date statistics contained in the records of local medical institutions will help psychologists develop targeted support programs for specific populations and learn about problems that are common to racial or ethnic groups.
The fourth requirement of the theoretical model is integrating knowledge into existing models of psychological work, which are unique for each consultant, depending on the area of specialization. This is knowledge related to understanding the worldviews, which may require more extensive education, for example, the study of multicultural fiction in the framework of educational programs of multicultural psychologists. The vision and understanding of the self-determined role of ethnic and racial groups must come first in such counseling. The aspects of Acting Self and Experiencing Self should be considered in terms of this requirement.
Therefore, the four requirements form the presented multicultural counseling model: (1) general historical education of counselors, (2) education about the history of local racial and ethnic minorities, (3) analysis of medical statistics and cooperation with local medical organizations, and (4) integration of knowledge about worldviews into existing popular psychological counseling models under the proposed scheme. To be specific, the framework for integrating knowledge about worldviews may include the study of racial and ethnic fiction and scholarly articles on cultural heritage. This will help develop a direct understanding of a different worldview sufficient for adequate, respectful communication with racial and ethnic groups. The development of a correct understanding can be supported by applying psychological or general scientific theoretical concepts about worldview, self-determination, and self-identification.
The Ways of Spreading and Integrating the Multicultural Counseling Model
The development of a modern theoretical model of multicultural counseling should include not only a blueprint for the future work of counseling psychologists but also a way to implement and disseminate this model. In general, the creation of the educational guidelines, considering the four requirements, is enough to maintain interest among psychologists who provide multicultural consultations. The guidelines may include links to documentaries and fiction, scientific articles, medical statistics, and contact information for local communities and medical institutions, categorized by state and region.
In the final analysis, the guidelines may be submitted to the American Psychological Association and recognized as a recommended source for explaining how to work within the delivery of multicultural counseling services. Recognition of the guidelines can be voted for and quickly adopted by some states that are more in need of adequate provision of multicultural counseling services. The guidelines may be published online for further use by public educational institutions and private continuing education programs. The development of guidelines will be a time-consuming process and can be carried out by a team of interested counseling psychologists.
Conclusion
Thus, multicultural counseling in the United States was analyzed, and suggestions were made regarding what the counseling profession should do to help people live in this society with dignity. Multicultural psychologists and consultants have a unique potential to lead changes related to racial and ethnic inequality and discrimination. To realize this potential, it is necessary to develop and adopt guidelines for practicing consultants. These guidelines should consider the need for historical and multicultural education and provide appropriate support.
References
Bhala, N., Curry, G., Martineau, A. R., Agyemang, C., & Bhopal, R. (2020). Sharpening the global focus on ethnicity and race in the time of COVID-19. The Lancet, 395(10238), 1673-1676.
Fukuyama, M. A. (1990). Taking a universal approach to multicultural counseling. Counselor Education and Supervision, 30 (1), 6–17. Web.
Koltko-Rivera, M. E. (2004). The psychology of worldviews. Review of General Psychology, 8(1), 3-58. Web.
Ludy, T., & Crouse, E. (2002). The American Psychological Association’s response to Brown v. Board of Education: The case of Kenneth B. Clark Benjamin. American Psychologist, 57(1), 38–50.
Peck, R. (Director). (2021). Exterminate All the Brutes [Video file]. Web.
Russel, N. (2021). The messy, ambitious documentary that ties together genocide, white supremacy, colonialism… and Josh Hartnett? Web.