Consequences of the Postmodernist Vision: Diversity as the Guiding Value for the Counseling Profession

Abstract

The counseling profession has strongly identified with the multicultural movement. Nevertheless, postmodernism, which is the ideological foundation of multiculturalism, has had relatively little impact on other segments of the profession. The author argues that many realms of the counseling profession are locked within modernism and could be significantly enriched by a foundational shift to postmodernism. Two of these realms, professional identity issues and the helping relationship, are elaborated, and conclusions for counseling practice are discussed.