Cultural auditing to enhance reflective counseling practices with Indigenous families

Abstract

Contemporary researchers in counseling consider cultural sensitivity and respectfulness as vital to developing a therapeutic working alliance. The author explores using a cultural audit to reflexively support cultural reflection, sensitivity, and respectfulness. A case example is used to present the cultural audit process in the client cultural context of a First Nations elder and grandfather. Implications are discussed, including cultural repertoire expansion of counselors and counseling practitioners via culture-infused therapeutic working alliances.