The cultural obstacles of counseling licensure in Hong Kong

Abstract

A comprehensive package of counseling credentialism comprises certification, registration, and licensing. Counseling in Hong Kong adheres to certification for which diverse counseling master's programs exist. In addition, counselors can register as members of professional counseling organizations such as the Hong Kong Professional Counseling Association and the Asian Professional Counseling Association. However, the 3 credentialing approaches remain incomplete because the development of professional counseling is susceptible to an absence of licensing in Hong Kong. This study is an attempt to identify the underlying cultural obstacles causing the lack of licensing from the perspectives of collectivism and McDonaldization. Hong Kong people are infused with collectivism, resulting in the need to incorporate collectivism in individualism-based counseling. Nonetheless, a consensus regarding the indigenization of counseling in Hong Kong remains lacking. Collectivism also interacts with the 4 core principles of McDonaldization, that is, quantification, efficiency, predictability, and nonhuman technology, which contradict the concept of counseling.