Asian Americans come from different civilizations with various societies and traditions. The greatest increase in Asian immigration to the U.S. began with the lifting of restrictive quotas on Asians after the passage of the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965. The term Asian and Pacijk Islander refers to a number of Asian groups such as Chinese, Filipino, Korean, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Asian Indian, and other Asian groups (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1981). According to estimates, the Asian population in the U.S. will grow from 9 million in 1992 to a projected 40 million in 2050 (US. Department of Commerce, 1995).
An increasing number of counselor educators and professionals support the need for counselor educators and trainers to address the question of preparing competent counselors to work with Asian Americans and other minority groups (Ridley, Mendoza, & Kanitz. 1994). Research studies show that graduates of counselor education programs feel that they are unprepared to work with culturally diverse clients (Allison, Crawford. Echemendia, Robinson, & Knepp, 1994). The reason for the slow inclusion of multicultural counseling in the counseling programs seems to be a result of the emphasis on traditional models of counseling that are founded on Western values and beliefs (D'Andrea & Daniels, 199 1 ; D'Andrea, Daniels, & Heck, 1991; Ibrahim. 1991; Sue โฌk Zane, 1987). It is suggested that different counseling techniques are needed to counsel Asian Americans from those currently used with other groups.
Counselors who engage in multicultural counseling should possess competencies that include the following: (a) counselor awareness of own cultural values and biases, (b) counselor awareness of client's worldview, and (c) knowledge of culturally appropriate intervention strategies (Arredondo et al., 1996). Competent counselors should apply the necessary cultural awareness, knowledge