Research Paper on:
Cultural Considerations When Counseling Latino Clients

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
persondisimo, simpatia, respeto and familism; all of which define the gender, family and community relations and rely on protection, support, respect and honor. However, in regards to Latinos in the  United States, differences between individuals also rely on acculturation levels. In the case of counseling Latina women who have been raped or sexually abused, therapists must take into account not  only traditional values of Latinos, but also acculturation levels, concepts of identity, biculturalism, stages of identity development, attitudes on present day sexual influences, health care formality, the current state of  family influences and the shifting gender roles among other issues. II. Background Within the United States there are approximately 32.8 million people who have their origins in Mexico, Puerto  Rico, Central America, South America, and other Spanish-speaking countries of the Caribbean who are considered as Latino and/or Hispanic and by the year 2005, Latinos will become the largest ethnic  minority group in the United States. "Hispanic" is considered as "a controversial panethnic description that can gloss over vital differences among millions of people" and can also be considered as  "misleading, stereotypical, and racist" while the terms "Latino" and "Latina" as Spanish words are seen as "more inclusive and politically progressive terms" yet still cover a vast and diverse population  (Degado-Romero, 2001, p. 207; Pumariega, 2000; Koss-Chioino and Vargas, 1999). Researchers have also found that generally Latinos do not referred to themselves as Latino because they believe, especially when they  live within the United States and are grouped accordingly, that their national identities are very important and more often than not would actually refer to themselves by their country of  origin and instead use Mexicano, or Cubano for example (Degado-Romero, 2001). The Latino term is imposed by the U.S. government and generally designates a minority status but despite this designation,