Cross Cultural Family Values in Mental Health Counseling - Essay Example

Cross Cultural Family Values in Mental Health Counseling Question Cultural competency refers to the ability of professionals toculturally relate to their clients. A culturally competent therapist are educated on the culturally assumptions of themselves and their patients. Other than that, these therapists are well educated on the cultural information regarding their clients and are able to counsel them, skilfully, with this information (Duncan & Trejo, 2011). To fully benefit from this information, therapists should be able to convert their cultural awareness into knowledge and finally into skill. As a skill, culturally competency is rewarding to both the professional and their clients. Cultural competent therapists are aware of their clients’ culture. Secondly, the awareness drives them to acquire knowledge about clients’ answers. Finally, the therapists develop multi-cultural skills that enable to understand a client’s cultural context while solving their issues (Corey et. al., 1998). Question #2 Most of the times, migration often means better or different living conditions for an individual and the family. For this reason, migration is often an experience that leads to mixed feelings within the family (Duncan & Trejo, 2011). The family might experience either hope or anticipation, whereas some may experience grief and loss. Counsellors and therapists should anticipate the effect migration has on individuals from culturally and linguistically diverse communities. Therapists should understand the effect migration has on young people and their families. Migration will, without a doubt, affect family dynamics. Question #3 Internalized culture is beneficial for therapists as it sensitizes them against cultural atrocities such as stereotyping. Therapists utilize internalized culture together with multicultural counselling while counselling culturally diverse individuals. Therapists, through internalized culture, are able to interpret their client’s behaviours within their cultural context (Corey et. al., 1998). They are able to accurately analyze their client’s behaviours and know how and why they were learned. Furthermore, internalized culture enables therapists to look past stereotypes and overgeneralizations of clients’ cultures. In the diagnosing and treatment of patients, internalized culture of therapists is advantageous to their patients. Question #4 Privilege is a law term that binds both the therapist and client during their consultation sessions. The patient, through privilege, has the right and power to prevent their therapists from disclosing any their information (Corey et. al., 1998). The information shared by the client is privilege and it is the therapist’s duty to protect it. During the therapy session, the client shares personal information that is confidential. For therapy to be successful, the patient should be truthful in their conversations with their therapists. Therapists should assure confidentiality and privilege ensures this. Privilege is the therapist’s responsibility despite the type of therapy; be it personal or group. Privilege also extends to the therapists’ notes on the patient, tests or raw data collected during therapy sessions (Corey et. al., 1998). Question #5 Race refers to an individual’s distinctive features such as skin tone, eye colour, bone structure and others. Ethnicity, on the other hand, refers to an individual’s cultural factors that define them. Ancestry, language, culture, beliefs and nationality are some of the factors that define one’s ethnicity (Duncan & Trejo, 2011). Both ethnicity and race enable individuals to identify with one another with either their physical or cultural similarities. The two are powerful factors that end up defining an individual’s life unbeknownst to them. People are stereotyped, by others, according to the two. Question #6 Culture, like race and ethnicity, defines individuals in society. Culture refers to the knowledge, experience and beliefs accumulated by individuals helping them to form societies. Other defining factors of culture include values, notions of time, universal concepts, religions, hierarchies and many others (Duncan & Trejo, 2011). Other than the aforementioned factors, all cultures have symbols, language, rituals, heroes and values. Families, on the other hand, also have cultures that distinguish them from others. Family culture determines how a family forms itself, the rules, habits and roles of all family members. This culture is not unique as it is a derivative of the ethnic or racial society the family dwells in. Question #7 An individual’s sense of home is one of the factors that lead to their definition of self. A home, or family, provides an individual with certain elements that cannot be derived elsewhere. Firstly, an individual is a member of their home as they share the home with other family members. The home has boundaries that distinguish it from other homes. The boundaries make an individual feel safe and have a sense of belonging (McGoldrick & Hardy, 2008). People outside the boundaries are outsiders and are held in lower regard. The home serves as a place where the individual can experience emotional safety and reveal what they really feel. The home also provides an individual with a shared emotional connection arising from shared history with other family members. This increases the quality of interaction as every member of the home is invested in each other (McGoldrick & Hardy, 2008). Question #8 Family is a universal term that relates to every human being. According to almost all books on the matter, family is seen as the basic social unit comprising of children and parents. The family components, parents and their children might be living together or not (McGoldrick & Hardy, 2008). However, the traditional definition of family dictates that the family members must all live under one roof. The definition of family changes throughout time. Coping styles refer to the way people respond to psychological stress. The styles enable individuals to maintain both their mental and emotional well-being intact. Negative events such as death, divorces among others often trigger stress in an individual’s life. Coping styles include the use of humour, seeking support, relaxation, recreation, adjusting expectations among others. Question #9 Economic stressors are economic challenges that heavily unsettle the family. The family, in the face of economic challenges, feel unsafe and uneasy about the future. Other than the parents, economic stress usually affects children the most (McGoldrick & Hardy, 2008). Children develop anxiety symptoms, as they will not express their problems verbally. They notice their parents’ moods and feelings and react negatively. Economic stressors also affect the relationship between the parents as it triggers conflict between the two. They will both attack each other on their spending habits, household finances and other financial-related conflicts. Question #10 Due to the differences is sex, men and women view the world differently. This view is determined wholly by what society expects from both sexes. Society expects men to be physical while women are taught to become emotional and socially adept. These societal expectations are ingrained from an early age and they lead to the different worldviews experienced by each sex. Men and women all have different responsibilities; men are providers while women are the homemakers. In terms of thinking processes, a man’s brain is geared towards problem solving while a woman’s brain is geared towards creating and forming relationships. The real difference boils down to what each sex identifies as achievements in their lives. A female’s sense of self is validated through her feelings and quality relationships she has with others. On the other hand, a male’s sense of self is achieved through their ability to achieve results. Question #11 Blended families are quickly replacing traditional nuclear families due to the frequency of divorces. Despite the intention of these blended families, they face numerous challenges such as replacing the bonds broken by divorce. Stepfamilies do not share family links, no common rituals or behaviours and are most likely to have completely different belief systems (Bobes & Bobes, 2005). Ex-spouses, from divorce, cause instability in blended families as they strive to rear their child. For this reason, blended families often comprise of the re-married couple and the ex-spouse. Loyalty between stepchild and stepparent is another issue that takes a while to be resolved. Question #12 LBGT individuals experience a lot of prejudice and discrimination regarding their sexual orientation. This contributes to their stress as society members. They conceal their sexual orientations until they are comfortable in their own skin (Paul, 2014). While they are still in the ‘closet’, they experience psychological distress, guilt, shame, and feelings of isolation from other people. Internalized homophobia is another danger that LGBT individuals that face; they internalize the hate society has on homosexuality into their own context. These individuals are brought up in societies having negative attitudes regarding homosexuality and transgender relations. Other stressors include rejection sensitivity by their parents and friends. Question #13 Elderly couples experience problems that young couples tackle quite easily. The problems include an empty nest, retirement, dependency, sexual functioning, and mortality among others. These issues are unique only to elderly couples and can only be solved by them due to their experience in marriage (Bobes & Bobes, 2005). Raising families creates order and purpose to a couple’s life but once the kids are all grown up, the house becomes empty. The prospect of old age usually means that the parents will have to retire from gainful employment. Retirement, similar to an empty nest, removes purpose and routine from the couple. Sexual functioning is another problem that elderly couples face. The intimacy brought about by sex declines in old age and this might affect the marriage. Question #14 All realms of medicine utilize illness narratives as a means of capturing the experiences of the patients. They capture and describe the “suffering” of patients and are therapeutic in this way (McGoldrick & Hardy, 2008). The narratives also empower the patients, as they are able to share their suffering and pain. The narratives, also, empower the patients to accept the person they have become because of the sickness. The narratives give them a chance to step outside of their selves and accept themselves. These narratives enlighten family and friends of individuals with chronic illness. They are able to walk a ‘mile, through the narratives, in the shoes of sick individuals. Question #15 Spirituality refers to the process an individual undergoes as they are transformed by religious ideals. In recent years, the notion of spirituality has been separated from religion and now focuses on individual’s experience and growth. Healing refers to the complete restoration of health of a damaged or sickly organism. Lastly, resilience refers to the ability people have of bouncing back, from tragedy or disease, stronger than ever. Resilient individuals do not let failure subdue them or kill their resolve. Question #16 Dysfunctional culture refers to culture that continuously develops people who are ill equipped in living amongst others. Modern day society is dysfunction to say the least, it is alienating, insane and isolating its members (Paul, 2014). Internalized culture, on the other hand, refers to an individual’s acceptance of norms and values during the process of socialization. Individuals accept these norms because of influence by another group or simply wanting to fit in. References Bobes, T., & Bobes, N. (2005). The couple is telling you what you need to know (1st ed.). New York: W.W. Norton. Corey, G., Corey, M., & Callanan, P. (1998). Issues and ethics in the helping professions (1st ed.). Pacific Grove, Calif.: Brooks/Cole Pub. Duncan, B., & Trejo, S. (2011). Intermarriage and the Intergenerational Transmission of Ethnic Identity and Human Capital for Mexican Americans. Journal Of Labor Economics, 29(2), 195-227. doi:10.1086/658088 McGoldrick, M., & Hardy, K. V. (2008). Re-visioning family therapy: Race, culture, and gender in clinical practice. New York: Guilford Press. Paul, P. (2014). Danah Boyd: Cracking Teenagers’ Online Codes. Nytimes.com. Retrieved 15 October 2014, from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/fashion/danah-boyd-cracking-teenagers-online-codes.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 Read More