Counseling Individuals

Living in Poverty
Katie Curtis
Missouri Baptist University

Poverty Statistics
2013 Poverty Rate: 14.5% or 45.3 million people
(DeNavas-Walt, Proctor, & US Census Bureau,
2014).
Poverty By Gender:
Poverty By Age:
Under 18: 19.9%
18-64: 13.6%
Over 65: 9.5%

Poverty By Race:

Blacks: 27.2%
Hispanics: 23.5%
Asians: 10.5%
Whites: 9.6%

Female: 15.8%
Male: 13.1%

Poverty By Families:
11.2% of families
Married Couple Families:
5.8%
Female Householder: 30.6%
Male Householder: 15.9%

Unique Characteristics
Research has shown that low levels of social
class, income, and education are related to
increased anxiety, depression, stress, and
substance dependence (Thompson, Cole, &
Nitzarim, 2012).
Present-Time Orientation
Money as a Commodity
Value on Personal Relationships over Material
Possessions

Types of Poverty
The term poverty is used to describe many different
life situations (Beegle, 2003).
Generational Poverty
Working-Class Poverty
Immigrant Poverty
Situational Poverty

Cultural Strengths
Specifying cultural strengths is difficult
because it suggests that individuals living in
poverty are distinctly different than everyone
else (Sue & Sue, 2013).
However, research has found that individuals
living in poverty have certain unique
characteristics based upon their shared
experiences:
Advanced Coping Strategies
Resiliency
Effective Problem Solving Skills

Cultural Challenges
Challenges can include:

Cultural Invisibility
Educational Inequalities
Environmental Injustice
Disparities in the Judicial
System
Social Isolation
Negative Attitudes

Most of us can readily

appreciate that a scarcity of
the essential resources and
services that support life
would lead in obvious ways
to discomfort, distress, and
crisis for poor families (Sue
& Sue, 2013).

Therapeutic
Considerations
In order to effectively work with clients living in
poverty a counselor should:
Increase knowledge of social class, poverty,
and related issues
Gain an understanding of class privilege
Learn about realities of poverty
Learn to see signs of social class bias

CARE Model
Social justice-oriented, strengths based
approach to working with individual clients
living in poverty (Cholewa & Smith-Adcock,
2012).
Interventions should appreciate systems at
play in the clients life and present ways to
deal with their unique needs.

Cultivate Positive Relationships with Poor Clients

Acknowledge the Realities of Poverty
Remove Barriers
Expand on Strengths

Cultivate Positive
Relationships
Strong Therapeutic Alliance

Acknowledge Challenges
Recognize Strengths
Examine Personal Values
Mutual Goal Setting

Acknowledge the
Realities of Poverty
The counselor must develop an understanding of the
clients experiences and realities before they are able to
acknowledge them.
Through assessment, the counselor can learn about the
struggles individuals living in poverty routinely face.
Assessment of the Etiology of Poverty
Impact of Poverty on Daily Life
Relationships
Work
Health
Sense of Self-Efficacy
Overall Well-Being

Identify Forms of Internalized Oppression

Remove Barriers
Common Barriers:

Logistical Issues
Structural Barriers
Misuse/Abuse of Drugs & Alcohol
Chronic Mental/Physical Illness
Teen Pregnancies
Interpersonal Partner Violence

Positive counseling outcomes are associated

with the counselor becoming more active and
involved in the lives of their marginalized and
devalued clients (Foss, Generali, & Kress, 2011).

Expand on Strengths
Strengths-Based Paradigm
Resiliency
Advanced Coping Skills
Help the Client Create a New Story

Implications for
Counselors
Dont Ignore Social Class
Differences
Utilize Engagement &
Retention Strategies
Involve Clients in Decision
Making & Educate Them on
the Process
Be an Advocate

Implications for School

Counselors
School counselors have a unique role in serving
students living in poverty. Studies have found
several unique characteristics about students
living in poverty.
Children living in poverty are significantly
more likely to report increased levels of
anxiety and depression, greater incidence of
behavioral difficulties, and lower levels of
positive engagement (Amatea & WestOlatunji, 2007).
Children living in poverty are less likely to
have access to mental health care or

Implications for School

Counselors
There are several ways school counselors can
effectively work with students living in poverty.
Serve as a cultural broker among students,
families, and school staff
Partner with school staff to design more
culturally responsive instruction
Help teachers see that a focus on blame can
derail efforts to work collaboratively

References
Amatea, E. S. & West-Olatunji, C. A. (2007). Joining the conversation about educating our
poorest children: Emerging leadership roles for school counselors in high-poverty schools.
Professional School Counseling, 11(2), 81-89.
Beegle, D. (2003). Educating students who live in poverty. Retrieved from
https://www2.ed.gov
Cholewa, B. B. & Smith-Adcock, S. (2012). Counseling families in poverty: Moving from
paralyzing to revitalizing. Michigan Journal of Counseling, 39 (2), 13-27.
DeNavas-Walt, C., Proctor, B. D., & US Census Bureau (2014). Income and poverty in the
united states: 2013. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Foss, L. L., Generali, M. M., & Kress, V. E. (2011). Counseling people living in poverty: The
CARE model. Journal of Humanistic Counseling, 50(2), 161-171.
Goodman, L. A., Pugach, M., Skolnik, A. & Smith, L. (2013). Poverty and mental health
practice: Within and beyond the 50-minute hour. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 69(2), 182190.
Santiago, C. D., Kaltman, S., & Miranda, J. (2013). Poverty and mental health: How do lowincome adults and children fare in psychotherapy?. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 69(2),
115-126.
Sue, D. W. & Sue, D. (2013). Counseling the culturally diverse: Theory and practice.
Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Thompson, M. N., Cole, O. D., & Nitzarim, R. S. (2012). Recognizing social class in the
psychotherapy relationship: A grounded theory exploration of low-income clients. Journal of
Counseling Psychology, 59(2), 208-221.