Members of ethnic and racial groups, such as African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, or Native Americans, particularly those who are unemployed and living in low income districts, have continued to struggle to overcome social barriers. A review of the literature reveals that the lack of opportunity or means to overcome social and economic barriers caused by unemployment has precipitated a number of psychological and psychosocial disorders. Unemployed individuals who suffer from such disorders often need professional help. Leisure counseling, an approach whereby individuals are directed to meaningful leisure endeavors, is a process which can retard these negative emotions and behaviors while helping individuals develop feelings of hope. Such a leisure counseling program consists of: (1) the establishment of client contact; (2) the identification of the client's problem and/or area of need; (3) the identification of the client objectives; (4) the generation of program solutions; (5) the implementation of the program; and (6) continuous program evaluation. To implement such a program, however, decision makers of society must become sensitive to the existing need of this population for programs of this kind and public funds must be allocated to assure implementation. (Author/ABL)