Using Historical Site Visits and Photography to Develop Ethnocultural Empathy in a Multicultural Counseling Course

ABSTRACT

Museums and memorials on sites of historical trauma can operate as physical spaces through which individuals better understand and process traumatic events. In visiting these sites, and by engaging in creative experiential activities such as photography, reflective journaling, and critical thinking exercises, students enrolled in counselor education programs may deepen their understanding of, and empathy for, the experiences and plights of people from cultures different from their own. Developing counselors may find immersion experiences, such as visiting sites of trauma, coupled with creative exercises and guided activities, both meaningful and insightful. This article includes a multicultural experiential course project designed to promote multicultural awareness and competency as they relate to ethnocultural empathy.

KEYWORDS:

• Creativity in counseling
• historical trauma
• experiential learning
• multicultural competencies

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).