Strategies for Coping with Cultural Diversity

Coping with cultural diversity is one of the major challenges facing individuals who seek counseling services as well as those who provide those services. This article describes six strategies, (a) assimilation or monoculturation, (b) acculturation, (c) alternation, (d) integration, (e) separation, andf) fusion that individuals may use to cope with cultural diversity. The relationship between these strategies, an ecosystemic model of culture, and a social cognitive theory of behavior is presented. The article discusses how these strategies may affect the process and outcome of counseling as well as the implications these strategies have for research.