Counseling Psychology - Intervention with Latinos - Research Paper Example

? Counseling Psychology: Intervention with Latinos of the of the Concerned May 31, Counseling Psychology: Intervention with Latinos Introduction Considering the contemporary global community that is increasingly going multicultural, mental health professionals are required to grapple with a wide range of cultural issues on a daily basis. The clinical and counseling approaches towards mental disorders today need to be more in consonance with diverse cultural aspirations and the quintessential objective of acquiring cultural competence (Moodley & Palmer, 2006). Varied aspects of the counseling psychology like assessment, research, treatment and education have to be culturally appropriate and apt. Culture certainly plays a pivotal role in psychopathology and the associated mental ailments like pain, anxiety, schizophrenia, substance abuse, eating disorders and mood disorders (Moodley & Palmer, 2006). There is no denying the fact that there are certain aspects of the mental disorders, which are found to be common and same across diverse cultures. Yet, culture does exercise a specific influence on every major mental disorder. Thus, culture does need to be taken into consideration in diagnostic and assessment practices and the accompanying interventions (Moodley & Palmer, 2006). Cultural issues and aspirations need to get a priority in the delivery of mental health services. This approach also has a positive influence in the sense that recognizing the cultural factors in counseling psychology could play a major role in the accrual of scientific knowledge (Moodley & Palmer, 2006). A culture sensitive approach towards counseling psychology should be an essential aspect of the training and practice of clinical and counseling psychologists and such other professionals employed in the field of mental health. Going by the current demographic trends, Latinos are more or less evenly scattered across the United States and definitively they do have a great impact on the ethnic makeup of the country. Latinos also constitute the fastest growing minority ethnic group in the US (Comas-Diaz, 2006). In the period 1990-2000, while the overall population of the US registered an increase of 13.2 percent, in the same time, the Latino population augmented by 57.9 percent (Comas-Diaz, 2006). This trend is expected to continue in the times to come as a major proportion of the Latino immigrants happen to be young and the Latinos do have a high birth rate (Comas-Diaz, 2006). Contrary to what is believed, in fact, Latinos are a highly heterogeneous and differentiated ethnic group, comprising of ethnic communities like Central and South Americans, Hispanics, Latins, Latinos, Hispanos, etc (Comas-Diaz, 2006). Each and every Latino subgroup is marred by dilemmas that are distinct and disparate. Not to mention that though a majority of the Latinos residing in the US are native born, yet, two in five happen to be immigrants (Comas-Diaz, 2006). Hence, many of the Latinos harbor strong affiliations with the spiritual culture, beliefs and practices of their native lands. The professionally trained counselors and clinicians in the US do have to serve and extend mental health services to the varied local communities, including Latinos. However, the science and practice of psychology has till today, to a great extent ignored an essential personality dimension of the Latinos residing in the US, which is their spiritual values and heritage (Falicov, 2009). It goes without saying that engaging Latinos in therapy by ascribing to their native belief system affords a more comprehensive approach towards understanding their mental disorders. Latino Spirituality and Counseling Psychology Spirituality in the context of cultural diversity is a concept that has hitherto not been given much attention in the contemporary studies (Cervantes & Parham, 2005). Yet, spirituality has emerged as a topic of discourse and attention amongst the psychologists interested in the African belief systems and the spiritual values of the colored people (Cervantes & Parham, 2005). The primary motivation and encouragement for this approach owes its origins to the native and indigenous people of America (Cervantes & Parham, 2005). The current psychological and counseling approaches were to a great extent cognizant of the ideas of diversity and multiculturalism. However, such cognizance was primarily limited to accepting and respecting the spiritual orientation of an individual and was silent as to the ways and means to integrate clients’ spiritual beliefs into the attempted and proposed interventions (Cervantes & Parham, 2005). Irrespective of the achievements and breakthroughs accrued in the field of counseling psychology, the mental health professionals till now have been held back by the dominant theoretical assumptions that were supportive of a need to retain an essentially secular perspective in the understanding of psychological ailments, without delving on the need to approach an ailment or intervene in a much broader context (Cervantes & Parham, 2005). The cultural context for any ethnic group is determined to a great extent by the spiritual beliefs specific to that cultural group. For instance, Native Americans regard life to be endowed with an inextricable spiritual dimension and consider human development to be the part and parcel of a broader spiritual quest (Cervantes & Parham, 2005). The Latinos, especially those affiliated to Mexico and Central America have their spiritual roots in the beliefs and values of their indigenous philosophies (Cervantes & Parham, 2005). However, Latinos tend to differ from the Native Americans in the sense that that their beliefs and rituals though being essentially indigenous, do carry marked Roman Catholic overtones (Cervantes & Parham, 2005). Besides, Latinos had to undergo great troubles and tribulations during their immigration to and naturalization in the US. Hence, the immense coping up that this journey involved attempted to accommodate their native beliefs and values in the larger psychological transition that they sought (Cervantes & Parham, 2005). The problem is that though the modern adherents of counseling psychology do undergo extensive academic and professional education and training, yet, their approach towards clinical intervention has its origins in the Western psychological perspectives. This lacuna especially comes to the fore when they try to deal with the notions of spirituality. A Eurocentric approach towards psychological fundamentally believes that spiritual variables cannot be extended a concrete recognition as they cannot be scientifically measures (Cervantes & Parham, 2005). Besides, the dependence of the Eurocentric approach on varied secular variables like behavioral characteristics and cognitive aspects leave no space and scope for spirituality (Cervantes & Parham, 2005). The irony is that an attitude of ignorance towards such a pivotal aspect of human behavior and well being jeopardizes any counseling attempt to approach a mental disorder in a holistic and broader context. Researchers and clinicians have attempted to reconcile the role of culture in counseling and psychological intervention in varied ways. Some experts totally deny the need for cultural adaptation and hold that if the time tested and established interventions are applied and practiced in a systematic and authentic way, they yield the same results, irrespective of the race or culture of the patient (Falicov, 2009). Universal approach has its relevance in the sense that varied studies have time and again proved that the mental disorders tend to have some essentially common aspects amongst varied groups. However, varied studies have also established that if empirically supported therapies are adapted to cultural specifications, they do evince visible levels of efficacy (Falicov, 2009). In comparison, the culture-specific therapies exhibit a marked contrast as compared to universalistic therapies in the sense that they hold that varied cultures has their own specific healing approaches (Falicov, 2009). This approach showed marked results in the treatment of Latino men prone to domestic violence (Falicov, 2009). The therapists helped these patients in reconnecting with the positive aspects of their masculinity enshrined in the Aztec ideals of manhood, by discussing with them the indigenous parables (Falicov, 2009). The impact of the approach was further accentuated by comparing these native notions of masculinity with the wrong aspects of masculinity incorporated into their culture by their Spanish conquerors (Falicov, 2009). The problem with the culture-specific therapy is that it sometimes tends to be extreme in its approach. In that context, cultural adaptation is a more balanced and pragmatic therapeutic approach towards the treatment of ethnic groups. Cultural adaptation primarily involves tailoring a therapeutic approach in consonance with the beliefs, values and preferences of a cultural group (Falicov, 2009). The crux of cultural adaptation is in its willingness to adapt the existing concepts and typologies as per the indigenous worldviews and stylistic preferences of the Latino clients. The Future Especially with regards to the United States, the Latino immigrants and their future generations comprise the largest ethnic minority group that will seek the help and assistance of the mental health services in the times to come (Gonzalez, 1995). It sounds quiet commonsensical to say that to extend better treatments and counseling to Latino communities, it will be very practical to tune the existing counseling approaches as per their cultural beliefs and preferences (Gonzalez, 1995). Again, it would be too farfetched to simply assume that a treatment meant for a White urban youth living under relatively propitious and comfortable circumstances will also work for a Latino teenager grappling with poverty and violence on a daily basis (Falicov, 2009). It really makes sense to assume that modifying and altering the existing practices in terms of culture and context will not only be more acceptable and welcome to the Latino clients, but will also help in curbing the dropout rate (Gonzalez, 1995). Many a times therapists commit blunders by pushing the clients to fast adjust and adapt to the new ways of thinking and doing things, with the belief that helping a client to approach a better societal adjustment will yield better results (Falicov, 2009). In contrast, an attempt to seek cultural adaptations may harvest just the opposite results. Hence, it goes without saying that in the times to come, cultural adaptations will turn out to be an utterly handy and useful resource for the counselors committed to treating Latinos and other ethnic minorities (Gonzalez, 1995). Considering the augmenting proportion of Latinos in the US, there is a big demand for mental health professionals who specialize in this aspect of their work. With the rise in the population of culturally diverse communities and groups in the United States, the requirement of mental health professionals trained to work with these communities and groups is also expected to be on the rise (Gonzalez, 1995). Conclusion Latinos not only constitute the largest ethnic minority in the United States, but they are also a community with a rich and bountiful indigenous spiritual base. Now is the time for the mental health professionals to realize that spirituality constitutes an intense personal dimension in case of many ethnic communities like Latinos. A one size fit all approach in the mental health services could no more be expected to be acceptable to many of the clients in the coming times. Hence, a discourse on the spiritual and cultural aspects of counseling psychology will necessarily be a step in the right direction. References Cervantes, Joseph M & Parham, Thomas A. (2005). Toward a Meaningful Spirituality for People of Color: Lessons for the Counseling Practitioner. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 11.1, 69-81. Comas-Diaz, Lillian. (2006). Latino Healing: The Integration of Ethnic Psychology Into Psychotherapy. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 43.4 , 436-453 Falicov, Celia Jaes. (2009). Commentary: On the Wisdom and Challenges of Culturally Attuned Treatments of Latinos. Family Process. 48.2, 292-309. Gonzalez, Fernando. (1995). Working with Mexican-American Clients. Psychotherapy. 32.4, 696-706. Moodley, Roy & Palmer, Stephen. (2006). Race, Culture and Psychotherapy, New York: Routledge. Read More