Providing effective counselling services to Australia's ethnic minority groups

Abstract

Australia is one of the most ethnically diverse countries in the world, yet many of the country's non-English speaking residents struggle with a number of issues principally related to their ethnic differences. Are Australian counsellors meeting the needs of these people adequately? This paper considers some of the special problems Australian immigrants and indigenous people face, the barriers which may hinder effective culturally sensitive counselling and finally some options for improving the quality of service to clients who are ethnically different.