Utilizing indigenous cultural practices and structures in counseling

This book, based on a study carried out within the backdrop of widespread discussions and the staggering evidence of the failures of the Western-based interventions on HIV/AIDS prevention and control programs, identifies ways and extent to which counselors in Botswana utilize indigenous cultural practices and structures during counseling. It reveals that current intervention strategies that do not incorporate indigenous cultural practices and local knowledge systems proved ineffective and inappropriate. It highlights that incorporating the best of indigenous cultural practices and healing systems, and local knowledge systems ensures congruence of the current Western-based approaches with the cultural setting of many non-western cultures as shown by several studies and practices in the area of health. The book identifies the difficulties counselors face in utilizing cultural practices and structures during counseling. Of significance is the fact that there is a possibility that there is disconnect between what they learned during training and the context within which they operate.