Counselling Ethics within Multicultural and Pluralistic Contexts in Nairobi County, Kenya
Keywords:
Multicultural-Counselling, Ethical-Principles, Ethical-Dilemmas, Counselling-TraineesAbstract
Counseling ethics are, known as crucial elements of professional practices, especially in multicultural and pluralistic counseling contexts where practitioners work with individuals with diverse religious and cultural values and different worldviews. In Kenya, counselors work within highly multicultural and pluralistic contexts often facing multiple ethical dilemmas such as issues concerning ethical decision-making, professional competence and issues related to boundary management. Despite the great need for ethically grounded counseling practice that reconcile the professional code of ethics and local cultural values, limited empirical studies have been done living a gap on how counseling trainees navigate these challenges in multicultural and pluralistic counselling contexts. The present study explores the lived experiences of ten (N=10) postgraduate counselling trainees concerning ethical practice in multicultural ad pluralistic counseling contexts in Kenya. The study mainly focused on three objectives: a) major challenges faced by postgraduate counseling trainees faced b) the role of training, supervision and curriculum in preparing postgraduate trainees c) strategies employed by postgraduate trainees to navigate ethical dilemmas in multicultural and pluralistic counselling setup in Kenya. The study used a qualitative phenomenological approach grounded in Edmund Husserl’s theory of lived experience and Derald Wing Sues’ multicultural framework. Data was, collected through the use of, a semi-structured interview that enabled to capture participants’ perspectives and daily experiences. The collected data was transcribed, coded and analyzed using the thematic analysis. The identified key themes include challenges in reconciling the professional code of ethics and clients’ cultural and religious values, difficulties in maintaining professional boundaries, and the role of supervision, training, and curriculum in preparing counselling trainees. The findings highlight that ethical counseling in multicultural and pluralities setup like Kenya is contextually negotiated and culturally grounded. Moreover, the findings underscore the need for culturally sensitive training, supervision and curriculum, which equips trainees with deeper knowledge and practical skills.
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