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Valuing diversity: guidance for labour market integration of migrants

(a) self-reflexive exercises (auto-biographical sketches, genograms, assessing
knowledge about dominant and minority group cultures, evaluating own
values, biases and feelings);
(b) practitioner training on characteristics of client groups;
(c) critical evaluation/cultural audit of available theories and methods;
(d) experiential learning, through immersion in different communities or role-
play.

Some practitioners with migrant background have expressed preference to
work with their own groups of origin, as they can easily understand the values,
beliefs and practices of the clients. However, results from this approach vary, as
other factors also affect the success of counselling interventions, such as the
socioeconomic background or the gender of the practitioner. In some cases,
cultural similarity may even be inhibitive: when sharing a problem with a member
of the community may be perceived as demeaning and potentially harmful; or
when counsellors go too far in taking the client’s side. Another limitation of this
approach is the number of immigrant-background practitioners available.
While theory and policy acknowledge that practices need to be adapted to
client group characteristics to a certain degree, this should be treated with
caution. Most service providers, and many experts, claim that the individual
process overrules any categorisation into groups. Individual stories – using
narrative terms – are the most important elements in a person’s interpretation,
reflection and planning about his/her career.
This is a perspective strongly rooted in the influence of psychology over
guidance methods and theory, which privileges a client-centred approach. The
theoretical and practical value of this perspective is undeniable, but it demands a
series of complex caveats, which cannot be ignored in policy definition (Sultana,
2009):
(a) individual experience is supported by constructs which are culturally-based
and structurally constrained by notions of what is correct, bad or successful.
In this sense individual and group level are inextricably entangled;
(b) individuals are inserted in contexts and topologies, which are not only
physical, but also cultural. They share a cultural and geographic space with
other individuals who also emigrated and face similar circumstances and
integration issues;
(c) a client-centred approach is difficult to apply, if not assisted by previous
surveying and characterisation of potential clients to help identify specific
groups, particularly minority groups. Without this visibility, it is difficult to
define political priorities and funding opportunities.

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