Impact of geopolitical crises on the formation or maintenance of multicultural counseling relationships: Insights from case studies

Abstract

This article draws attention to the impact of geopolitical crises on multicultural counseling. It acknowledges that counselors may listen to news about these conflicts on radios and televisions without realizing the multicultural counseling implications. It puts these crises in socio-psychological perspective and raises, explains, and discusses the concepts of vicarious gain, lack, and loss of credibility as experienced by counselors due to these crises. Illustrative cases are used to show how vicarious gain, lack, and loss of credibility can inhibit the development and/or maintenance of healthy multicultural counseling relationships. Finally, ways to deal effectively with these problems are presented.