A Personal Journey Toward Culture-Centered Counseling: An Interview With Paul Pedersen

The multicultural counseling landscape has been shaped by countless numbers of people from diverse groups and backgrounds over the past 35 years. During that time, many multicultural counseling theorists, researchers, educators, and practitioners have helped construct new ways of thinking about human development, mental health, and professional helping strategies in ways that are transforming the fields of counseling and psychology (Ponterotto, Casas, Suzuki, & Alexander, 2001). One of the most vital voices that has consistently played an important role in the evolution of the multicultural counseling movement and its emergence as the fourth force in counseling and psychology is that of Paul Pedersen. Paul's journey into becoming culturally competent is extremely interesting. His evolution is interwoven with a Danish-Iowan background, a delightful sense of humor, a fulfilling social life, and an exceptional career lineage. Over the past three decades, he has served as a well-recognized professor, a fellow, a program coordinator, and a renowned researcher. He has written voluminous books, monographs, book chapters, and professional journal articles and has spoken to countless audiences in general areas of counselor education, cross-cultural psychology, communication, intercultural training, international education, constructive conflict management, alternative and complementary therapies, and educational development. This listing of contributions reflects some of the ways in which Paul Pedersen's life and legacy have influenced the multicultural counseling movement. Paul is currently working as visiting professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Hawaii. Being on the same campus as Paul has afforded us a unique opportunity to learn about the ways in which his life and educational experiences have influenced his thinking and contributions in multiculturalism. This interview also provides the opportunity to share information about this unique individual, factors that have influenced his development, and some of the ways in which he has contributed to shaping the multicultural movement in the United States and around the world. Historical Background: The "Seamless Cultural Connections in My Life" Michael D'Andrea (MD): Thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule to meet with us and share your journey. In an autobiographical publication, you talk about the "seamless cultural connections in my life" (Pedersen, 2001, p. 96). What do you mean by that phrase and how do you see it relating to multicultural counseling? Paul Pedersen (PP): I've always had trouble finding the beginning and/or ending of things. One activity overlaps with the next activity and--aside from some artificial point we establish arbitrarily--it is hard to know where an idea really starts, or if it ever ends. I have come to believe that life and death also, for that matter, are seamless, sort of modeled after Einstein's law of thermodynamics where energy changes form but it is never ended. Birth and death then become sort of a "rolling over" experience. I think Asian cultures understand and accept that seamless quality much more easily than we do in the West. Everything I have done in my life builds on and is related to what came before in a sort of unfolding experience that makes sense, at least to me. Multicultural counseling emphasizes the need to understand our clients' cultural context and the seamless connections they make in their lives, emphasizing how each aspect is related to all other aspects. MD: Recognizing the importance of exploring a person's cultural context to get a better understanding of who that person is, I wonder if you could talk a little bit about the contextual factors that influenced your own development as a child and adolescent. PP: I grew up on a farm in northern Iowa, where as a family we read books out loud during cold winter nights. …