The Efficacy of Counseling with Native Americans - Essay Example

? The Efficacy of Counseling with Native Americans (Full s) of Affiliation) (Lecturer’s, Abstract The attainment of a comprehensive counseling process has been elusive in certain ethnic groups in the United States. The progress of the counseling process to achieve its objective of regaining social health for the individual also depends on a number of factors that the individual is exposed to. It therefore follows that ethnic and cultural backgrounds play very important roles in the overall success of an individual in need of counseling services or a client already undergoing such therapy. In this paper, an assessment of possibilities that contribute to certain observable counseling efficacy values among Native Americans is made. The challenges faced by this ethnic group will be used to create the link that counseling process seeks to establish in the discourse. Four questions attempting to answer issues touching on unique historical perspectives, counseling process complexities, cultural interaction issues and spirituality are used in the design. The research reveals that it’s necessary for therapists to consider Native American cultural history when establishing the counseling process. The research also details a number of specific actions that should be considered, including linguistic and body language elements that aid the counseling process. The counselors must also be aware of their own biases in relation to the client. Finally, it’s indicated that the incorporation of Native American spirituality could greatly aid the therapist in the counseling process. The Efficacy of Counseling with Native Americans Introduction The context of Native Americans is created with an understanding of the ethnic group’s history and cultural setting. Although all Americans would want to dispel any divisive perspective from the social arena, there are unfortunate past events that cannot be washed away without the appropriate confrontation by the aggrieved (Gallay, 2003). Counseling is about healing that probes for any feelings that might make a client remain in a severe state. From a historical perspective, the Native Americans are a sensitive group that still holds some roots of unfair treatment from the European settlers during the slavery age. However, very little information is available regarding the Native American suffering at the hands of slave masters, when compared with the famous African slave trade. The sensitive developments that the political arena in the United States exposed this group to are still fresh in the memories of a majority of the Americans, which brings nasty reactions among them. Cases of rejection, neglect and discrimination from certain sections of their aggressors appear in the broader image of a Native American. For counseling clients with such a historical background, it becomes difficult to appreciate the impact of counseling in confronting such challenges, unless a bold journey is taken to discover such a past acting as an impediment to the counseling process. How do historical injustice and modern racial discrimination issues affect counseling processes among Native Americans? To shed more light on the tumultuous historical background that the Native Americans have had to experience would perhaps facilitate an understanding that would assist therapists to carry out a comprehensive counseling process. As briefly observed above, scars of mistreatment in the hands of foreign aggression by the European-backed slave trade would perhaps act as one of the biggest hindrances to successful therapy. Due to a rich cultural heritage and traditional cohesion practices that bound this “minority” group, roots of bitter past must haunt them in the hands of public mistreatment and racial discrimination. According to Trabich (1997), there must be some form of remnant heritage that has facilitated passing on of old wounds to the current Native American community to bear witness of untold atrocities that were committed against them. This past that saw thousands of Native Americans exterminated alongside the racial discrimination that the community has had to put up with presents a historical challenge that follows them to date. In order for such a community to be sufficiently served by any form of therapy, an appreciation of this past must be forthcoming. In light of the historical backdrop that plays an important role in the determination of counseling efficacy with the Native American community, it follows that placing emphasis on the historical issues is vital. This is important because all the historical issues dragged into the current life perceptions among the Native Americans would assist in the handling of the counseling therapy, from relationship formation to trust elements of the counseling dyad. According to Skouras (1998), in order for counseling therapy to make an impact in the overall outcome expectations, the therapist must address historical background issues affecting the client. In the process of handling the challenges, it is likely that there will be an informed basis to base the counseling conclusions needed to ensure healing. Skouras (1998) reckons that there is a general shortage of Native American counselors which presents a challenge to non-Native backed process in making assumptions about the client’s perceptions to several fundamental principles. The author holds the opinion that modern challenges that face the group currently can only be handled with the understanding of the actual history of the group. The challenge of such a position is presented by the apparent inadequacy in documentation of the historical emotional and psychological suffering that the Native Americans have had to silently deal with. Indeed, in a study conducted by Chippewa, Debra and Jamie (2008), it is important for any social service agency to facilitate awareness among practitioners of the basic knowledge that the client community needs to be served from. The unique historical background that the Native American community requires an approach that promotes a thorough coverage of the client’s background aspects among them, a historical orientation. The authors reckon that the Native American sensitivity to their troublesome past must be accommodated in the therapy approach for chances of raising trust and relationship effectiveness. With regard to the Native American cultural setting there is a challenging scene that points to a difficulty in the counseling outcome. Cultural heritage that binds the Native American, positions the modern client as a community player with historical identity. Just like in the typical traditional native setting, the contemporary Native American society occupies a position that requires associating with the past community history and heritage. However, with the unsupportive environment characterized by several challenges such as unemployment, negative stereotype, inadequate education and hostility, the Native American clients are always at crossroads regarding their identity and social position, which leaves them in a state referred to as emotional inexpressiveness (Cazenave, 1982). In emotional inexpressiveness, social roles are damaged since the client cannot participate in social process due to feelings of inadequacy and is unable to express feelings verbally. How is cultural interaction influential to the efficacy of counseling process among Native American clients? Some interpretations of the major cultural practices, including communication dealing with Native American clients, is very important in the creation of an appropriate counseling relationship. According to Broome and Broome (2007), therapists’ actions during the counseling process could be very determinative of the outcome and efficacy of the therapy. The authors reckon that the general communication aspects of the therapist could be translated to either improve or compromise the client’s perception about the respect that they expect from the therapist and the social services agency. As a general rule, there are certain therapy practices that are recommended for an effective session to take place; for instance, verbal and non-verbal communication patterns. On the other hand, the cultural background that the Native Americans have regarding communication and how other people perceive them could be implicated on and undesirable outcomes may be obtained. In addition, the group’s attachment to spiritual beliefs cannot be assumed since they play an important aspect of how appreciated the groups feels in the eyes of those they interact with. Generally, Native Americans would want appreciation and respect of their religious perceptions and beliefs, just as their cultural practices. It therefore follows that the ordinary format of a formal counseling session needs to be optimized in order to factor in some of the intricacies that define their perceptions. Within this spectrum of understanding, Broome and Broome (2007) indicate that it is important that cultural practices such as greetings and handshakes become integrated in the communication elements that the therapist applies in the counseling dyad. The authors explain that the important communication devices such as metaphors that appear respectful and euphemistic should be explored first to drive a point home. The ordinary Native American would feel offended by use of direct and strong language in the communication applied by a therapist in the process, if there are options of a simplified language that are not applied. Some important communication elements, such as handshakes, are very important among the Native Americans as they facilitate the establishment of the appropriate counseling dyad and appropriate therapy relationship formation. With regard to other non-verbal communication issues, the Native Americans would take intense direct eye contact as offensive. Making comments that would infringe on the community’s beliefs, such as the connectivity of life in all living organisms. Are process complexities and biases influential in the determination of efficacy of counseling process among Native Americans? Most counseling processes fail due to failure of the unbalanced therapy outcome approach. Counseling biases among therapists always compromise the counseling outcomes that should fulfill a balance of input from both counseling parties. Therapists may approach counseling with a general perception that many forces too difficult to be resolved through counseling therapy challenge Native Americans. A fact of concern would also be substantive in contributing to negative therapy outcomes if there are racial tensions between the two parties. For a client to fully open up and freely express the emotional burden and frustrations as required of in counseling, there must be elements of trust. When there are tensions arising from distrust between the therapist and client, it follows that it cannot be possible to establish the appropriate relationship that efficacy in counseling would require. It is upon the therapist to establish the confidence levels that Native American clients have with the process before making assumptions that everything will work out. Clearing out ethnic tension and confronting bias between the parties should be facilitated to ensure that the counseling relationship passes the trust test (Dinges and Oetting, 1972). There is a general principle in therapy practice that the therapist-client relationship determines the success of the process. The most skilled therapists will attest to the observation that manipulating a counseling relationship towards the desired results plays an important outcome on the process. According to Patterson (1959), there is a lot of potential to change the direction of the counseling process at the relationship perspective of the process. The author reckons that a counselor can take the advantage of the relationship established with a client to institute the necessary outcome. In such a way, the Native American perceptions about counseling and other social issues that generally compromise the outcomes of the process are taken care of from the beginning. In Norman (1976), it is evident that the form of a relationship formed between the client and the therapist impacts the outcomes of the counseling process. The author reckons that various factors of subject dogmatism influence the perceptions and feeling that the two parties have towards that the counseling process. Besides, belief congruence with the relationship assists the therapist to map the progress of the therapy outcomes well in advance of session termination. In the case of Native Americans who have a mixture of perceptions about the treatment they will get at the hands of the therapist, the appropriate intervention towards success for the process must be incorporated as the initial relationship is established. There are indications that the therapists’ initial relationships with the sensitive clients make an influential contribution on the uptake of the process. Ultimately, process issues must be resolved around the perceptions that are held with much esteem and importance among the Native Americans. According to Herring (1990), the family structure must be held with a lot of emphasis and if possible, with permission of the clients, inclusion of the family members on the therapy has been found to be very important. Optimization of the counseling process would be very important in improving efficacy of counseling among Native American clients to handle the ethnic sensitivity that the group experiences. Could spirituality have an impact on counseling efficacy with Native Americans? Process-oriented counseling sessions involving Native Americans have been found to be exceptional regarding efficacy and projected outcomes if spirituality was applied in the sessions. According to Trimble (2010), the Native Americans perspective of spirituality is central to their healing. Important therapy applications must not ignore the healing impact it makes to their psychological health. The author reckons that even though biases may exist in the perceptions held by Native Americans against non-Natives therapists, a spiritual approach into the process could offer the necessary adjustment into the process. A more non-Western approach with which the Native Americans have can only be induced through understanding some of the native practices, spirituality being one of the most potent. According to the outcomes of a blended intervention that integrates spirituality into the process, the application of certain practices that link the spiritual aspects of the community with the process could be explored for better results. Some of these practices include seeking traditional religious interpretations to certain psychological challenges. In such instances, the therapist must take discretion regarding interventions to employ and remain focused into the process. One such method could be involving the highest concentration aspects of the client with a complicated spiritual and cultural background to deliver higher-level results. This implies that the low counseling uptake and success among the Native Americans can be improved through various process appreciation tools as described above. Despite finding an appropriate tool in the religious practices of the Native Americans, LaDue (1994) warns that ethical considerations must always be observed in the entire process. The author reckons that too much reliance on the spirituality of the group could translate into abuse of their highly respected practices. In fact, such continued reliance would evoke unnecessary tensions regarding counseling therapy as intrusive into cultural and religious esteem of the Native American communities. References Broome, B. & Broome, R. (2007) “Native Americans: Traditional Healing,” Urologic Nursing, 27(2):161-173 Cazenave, N. A. (1981). Black men in America: the quest for “manhood”. Black Families. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications Chippewa, T., Debra, C. & Jamie, C. (2008) “Counselling Native Americans: Clinician’s Perceptions of Counselling Competencies and Characteristics Essential to Working with Native American Clients,” Retrieved from: http://etd.auburn.edu/etd/handle/10415/1050 Dinges, N. & Oetting, E. R. (1972) “Interaction Distance Anxiety in the Counseling Dyad,” Journal of Counseling Psychology, 19(2):146-149 Gallay, A. (2003) “Forgotten History of Indian Slavery,” Retrieved from: http://www.raceandhistory.com/cgi-bin/forum/webbbs_config.pl/noframes/read/1362 Herring, R. D. (1990) “Understanding Native American Values: Process and Content Concerns for Counselors,” Counseling and Values, 34(2):134-127 Johnston, S. (1996) “The Genocide of Native Americans: a Sociological View,” Retrieved from: www.spodawg32.net/files/.../TheGenocideofNativeAmericans.pdf LaDue, R. (1994) “Coyote Returns: Twenty Sweats Does not an Indian Expert Make,” Women and Therapy, 5: 93-111 Norman, W. B. (1976) “Relationship Factors in the Counseling Dyad,” Retrieved from: http://etd.lib.ttu.edu/theses/available/etd-04102009-31295008593377/unrestricted/31295008593377.pdf Patterson, C. H. (1959) “Counseling as a Relationship,” Journal of Rehabilitation, 12:13-15 Skouras, T. J. (1998) “Native American Indians and the Counseling Process: culture, Adaptation and Style,” Retrieved from: http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED438114&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED438114 Trabich L. (2003) “An End to Intolerance: Native American Genocide still Haunts United States,” Retrieved from: http://www.iearn.org/hgp/aeti/aeti-1997/native-americans.html Trimble, J. E. (2010) “The Virtue of Cultural Resonance, Competence, and Rational Collaboration with Native American Indian Communities: A Synthesis of the Counseling and Psychotherapy Literature,” The Counseling Psychologist, 38(2):243-356 Read More