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Abstract - Minority counselors are an important resource for diversity sensitive rehabilitation services. However, their work-related experiences have not been the subject of study in the rehabilitation literature. Tokenism theory is utilized to explore possible work-related stress experienced by minority counselors. Specifically, minority counselors may experience the tokenism effects of visibility, contrast, role encapsulation, and assimilation from their interaction with majority counselors and from their self perceptions. Counselor education in work-place diversity and an asset approach to counselor utilization should enhance the perceived quality of the work environment by both minority and majority counselors.
The training and employment of more minority rehabilitation counselors is widely considered as a key component in making rehabilitation services responsive to diversity (Granello, Wheaton, & Miranda, 1998; Kundu, Dutta, & Walker,1997; Rehabilitation Act Amendments, 1992). The need for more minority counselors was motivated, in part, by that rehabilitation customers, the majority of whom are minorities (Smart & Smart, 1997a) were under-served by the fact rehabilitation services that were largely staffed by majority, White counselors (Kundu et al., 1997). Increasing the number of minority counselors is a way of enhancing rehabilitation service utilization by those minority consumers who may feel uncomfortable with majority counselors (Mpofu & Beck, 1999; Smart & Smart, 1997b). Minority counselors are those from sociocultural groups that historically have been associated with social disadvantage (e.g., blacks, females, persons with disabilities) (blacks as in this text comprise all people of African ancestry and are inclusive of African Americans).
Surprisingly few studies have considered cultural diversity-related issues in counselors in the rehabilitation service system. The studies by Pope and Ottavi (1994), Granello and Wheaton (1998), and Hernandez and Morales (1999) are the major exceptions. Pope and Ottavi (1994) and Granello and Wheaton (1998) investigated self-reported multicultural competencies in African-American, AsianAmerican, Euro-American and Hispanic counselors. The study by Hernandez and Morales (1999) is the only one that examined the work-related experiences of minority counselors. Hernandez and Morales (1999) found that female Latina counselors in university settings experienced high levels of work-related alienation which the counselors ascribed to negative treatment by majority culture colleagues because of their minority status. Am understanding of the work experiences of minority counselors is likely to (a) assist the pre-service training of rehabilitation counselors for workplace...