A Cultural Formulation Approach to Career Assessment and Career Counseling With Asian American Clients

Abstract

Using the cultural formulations approach to career assessment and career counseling, the current article applies it specifically to Asian American clients. The approach is illustrated by using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders fourth edition ( DSM-IV) Outline for Cultural Formulations that consists of the following five dimensions, which are modified for career counseling: (a) cultural identity of the individual, (b) cultural conceptions of career problems, (c) cultural contexts and psychosocial environment, (d) cultural dynamics of the therapeutic relationship, and (e) overall cultural assessment. The article concludes with a case study of an Asian American client to serve as an illustration of this approach.