Counseling Adults with Mental Retardation - Term Paper Example

In order to understand the concept of counselling of adults affected by mental retardation as well as their families, it is important to explain someof the broader issues such as culture as well as changing lifestyles that often surround the subject. It is also important to explain the meaning of mental retardation as well as some of the major causes so as to be able to suggest best ways of counselling the affected people. Mental retardation is generally referred to as disorder of the brain where the affected person learns and develops slowly. He also has problems of functioning normally in the society. “Mental retardation is a developmental disability that can appear from birth through the age of 18. People who are mentally retarded function at an intellectual level that is below average and have difficulties with learning and daily living skills,” (http://www.hmc.psu.edu/childrens/healthinfo/m/mentalretardation.htm). Basically, counselling can be defined as a process through which one person helps another person to express thoughts and feelings in such a way as to clarify difficulties and come to terms with some experience, thereby facing the problem with renewed confidence (Hodgkinson 1992). This is a very important aspect as far as mental retardation is concerned since it is primarily concerned with instilling confidence in people who feel at loss of being functional in a society where they would have a feeling that they are looked down upon. Genuine counselling includes an explicit offer of time and expertise to the client where listening and maintaining a non judgemental attitude is very important. In general, counselling mainly addresses two issues which are change and loss which is why it is often recommended whenever there is some of form of turning point in life where there is something that may constitute a major crisis or challenge. The major aim of counselling is to help a person discover what he wants in life, put him in charge and to help him become independent once more again (Hodgkinson 1992). In cases involving mental retardation, counselling is about empowerment of an individual where he is helped to take responsibility for his actions and be less at the mercy of others or their own emotions. It also gives us a helping hand whenever life becomes difficult because of overwhelming stress and emotion. Thus turning points in life as well as indefinable emotional problems can be resolved using counselling from a professional counsellor. The success of counselling is mainly based on the notion of trust and mutual understanding where all information would be exchanged in a free and accommodative environment with the aim of removing the fear that may be engulfing the client who is at a loss or traumatised. It should be borne in mind that mental retardation is a bit different from other critical psychiatric cases where counselling is not an option. As noted above, this is a problem related to people who are generally slower in learning and understanding things and counselling can be used to positively change the way they perceive themselves with regards to their mental condition. Culture defines the accepted ways of behaviour by the members of a particular society (Haralambos & Holborn 1992). To a large degree, it determines how the members of a particular society think and behave. It directs their action and defines their outlook on life. Thus, it can be noted that in order for a society to operate effectively, there is need for sharing of the values and norms. It is shared and it has great bearing on how people perceive issues related to mental retardation. There are various perceptions attributed to the issue of mental retardation and it is important to explain some of the causes so as to get a clear understanding about how people affected can be counselled. In most cases, people in developing countries particularly Africa who have a great belief in their tradition, mental retardation is perceived as something that is a result of evil spirits (Linde 2002). There is a strong belief in witchcraft and witch doctors are often consulted to exorcise the spirits. In some cases, there is a strong belief that mental retardation is a result of avenging spirits which seek to be appeased and this can only be done after payment of money or a herd of cattle. In an attempt to counsel both the affected person with mental retardation and his family in this context, there is need to be open minded and be very attentive in listening to their beliefs. However, there is need to show that people must be real and come to understand that things like evil spirits are myths which are not responsible for shaping our lives. There would be need to instil positive behaviour among the affected person and his family to believe in themselves rather than believe in spirits to take control of their lives. Indeed, like any other illness, mental retardation is normal and people have to accept its existence. The most important factor regarding this type of problem is acceptance. If the affected people accept that mental retardation is something that can affect any person regardless of religion, then they can learn to live with it. In most cases, people across different cultures believe in superstition and that things like bad luck are the major causes like problems like mental retardation. Superstition is the irrational belief that certain objects or situations may provide safety or misfortune (Melgosa 2007). Indeed, the truth about the matter is that these superstitious beliefs are harmless by virtue of believing in oneself, but they cause major drawbacks. Counselling is very important in order to relieve affected people from being prisoners of such things like superstition. Believing in superstition add unnecessary burden to life. Indeed, somebody with mental retardation already has a problem to effectively function in the society so thinking about things like superstition add unnecessary burden to the already not so good situation. These beliefs also interfere with goal attainment. People with mental problems are also capable of doing something in life and they can even achieve something meaningful. It follows from the argument that disability does not mean inability hence when counselling handicapped people, there is to be very clear that a person affected by this problem can also be able to contribute meaningfully to the society. There is need to tell the affected people that instead of solving the problem, they would in fact be adding unnecessary burden to their situation. When counselling people affected by this problem, they should know that believing in superstition would only cause more problems instead of finding solutions. Believing in superstition often causes anxiety in people since they would be crazy about seeing something just happening out of charm or lucky. For instance, in order to avoid getting involved in an otherwise preventable predicament, there is need to take precautions to avoid it than believing that an unseen spirit can play a role in doing that. Superstition otherwise complicates other disorders. Whilst a person suffering from mental retardation is struggling to cope with the problem, believing in superstition is only another source of complicating the situation. There is need to listen carefully to the people affected and explain that life has got its ups and downs and these have to be accepted since they are natural. It is advisable to make people affected by this problem feel comfortable that they are also capable of doing something that can be helpful in their lives rather that just grieving over something that cannot be changed. In some cases, mental retardation can be corrected but in some cases, it can be difficult to correct the problem hence the need to focus on ways of coping with the problem than complicating the situation by looking at things which may not be fruitful at the end of the day. In some cases, people who are uneducated often believe in superstition by virtue of not having causal understanding in explaining events without logic but try to find refugee in superstition. Other people often lack confidence in what they do hence the need to nicely talk with the people suffering from mental retardation as well as their families that they should have confidence about their personalities. There is also need to tell the affected people that they should understand the situation from a different angle rather than believing in external causes like superstition. Such people ought to be told in a very convincing manner that they should set their own goals in life and if they seriously pursue them, they would be better positioned to realise the results rather than believing in something that is far-fetched and cannot be observable. This would enable to appreciate real things in life. In some cases, excessively emotional personalities tend to explain everything in magic and mysterious terms. This complicates the situation especially to affected people as they would only add burden to their bad situation already. Psychologically, a person with less education tend to think that all the problems are caused by evil spirits and need to be rectified using traditional means such as charms but this is not often the case since this can be corrected. In counselling people affected by mental retardation who believe that it is caused by superstition, there is need for them to be objective and try to use objective data. A counsellor can nicely tell them using objective means in approaching problems to life can be empirically tested and verified. The main advantage of using objective means is that it can be verified and the methods used and results can be empirically tested. This message has to be conveyed in a clear and precise manner that it is important to believe in something that can be tested than something that is difficult to prove or test. It is also very important to educate affected people by the problem of mental retardation that it is always important to apply external, rational strategies in approaching problems of such kind of magnitude. For instance, a good example can be drawn from this simple example. To avoid an accident, one must not trust good luck but must engage in preventive measures. In the same vein, to avoid complicating a situation by believing in things like bad luck which may be nonexistent, it is important for those people to be rational and try to be factual rather than relying on assumptions. In the event that the problem of mental retardation has been caused by an identifiable situation such as grief over loss of a loved one which can lead some people to be withdrawn from the society, it is important to tell them that they should address the cause in an amicable way that would not cause more trouble. It is also very important to tell people affected by the problem to be practical and look at it from a positive side that always being on the negative. It is important to tell them that they should make an effort to test superstition and then compare it with real life situations. It is important for them to know that superstition is not something that is tangible in real life and can only cause more confusion than bringing solutions to complicated situations like mental related illnesses. Affected people should be focused and have a positive feeling towards the way they conduct themselves regardless of the problems they may have which may feel them alienated in the society. Being real often removes unnecessary fears of something that cannot be observed hence the need not to waste effort and thought believing in superstition. It is also important to tell the people affected by the problem of mental retardation to substitute superstition with faith. Indeed, God loves everyone and people are his image. From this biblical point of view, everyone is important before God’s eyes hence, there is no need to grieve over something that a human being cannot control. This can play a great role in giving hope to the affected people and would be likely to motivate their feelings to be positive in real life. Just believing in most cases is a remedy that can play a great role attempting to find solutions to people who suffer from mental related problems as highlighted above. Besides being faithful, it is also important to tell the affected people to stop using intoxicating substances as this can further complicate the situation. Changing lifestyles often have a bearing on issues related to mental retardation. For instance, an ageing population is affected more by urbanisation than any other age group and this can have a bearing on those already affected by mental retardation as they can fail to keep pace with these rapid changes (O’Donnell 1994). The emergency of conurbations has seen the growth of inner cities especially in Britain. These areas are commonly referred to inner cities where middle class workers reside. The population structures in these areas are biased towards manual working and poverty as well as unemployment is very high in this area. These areas are also characterised by high crime rates and there are also poor health conditions. Instead, it can be seen that mentally retarded people cannot cope with these rapid changes in urban life which can also affect their state of mental condition. High levels of poverty greatly contribute to the state of the person’s mental condition in a negative way. Such people who are slow learners often need to live in generally quite areas where they can take their pace and time to grasp the way of life in the environment. Counselling people with mental retardation as well as their families who live in these areas requires a holistic approach. First and foremost, it must be noted that, poverty is an integral part of our life which cannot be eradicated completely though it can be minimised. Openness when approaching this subject is more ideal since it creates a positive feeling in the people affected that they would come to know that they would be dealing with something they are not able to change though they can find other means and solutions to cope with it. In this case, it would be important to tell them that they should accept the living conditions and adjust to the demands of their situation. More importantly, the family members of the affected person must always show love and comfort to the affected person so that he does not feel alienated. If the close relatives show him some love, he will not feel very lost and would also be better positioned to cope with the situation. Over and above it can be noted that counselling is primarily concerned with helping a person discover what he wants in life, put him in charge and to help him become independent once more again after facing problems or undergoing a situation which is beyond his control. In cases involving mental retardation, counselling is about empowerment of an individual where he is helped to take responsibility for his actions and be less at the mercy of others. Whilst many people would like to believe in things like superstition as well as evil spirits with regards to issues related to mental retardation, the truth of the matter is that this is something that is natural like any other illness hence the best remedy is to accept it so as to be better positioned to cope with it. It has been noted that there is need to be factual and convincing when dealing with sensitive issues related to this kind of mental illness. Bibliography Dr Melgosa J. (2007). Developing a healthy mind: a practical guide for any situation. Madrid. Tallerers Graficos Penalara. Haralambos M. Holborn M (1991). Sociology: Themes and perspectives. 3rd Edition. London. Collins Education. Hodgkinson L (1992). Counselling. Sydney. Simon and Schuster Limited. Lauer R.H. (1989). Social problems and the quality of life. 4th Edition. Lowa. Wm C, Brown Publishers. Linde P.R. (2002). Of spirits and madness: an American psychiatrist in Africa. New York. McGrawHill. Lindon J & L (2000). Mastering counselling skills. London. McMillan. Mental retardation (N.D.) Available at : http://www.hmc.psu.edu/childrens/healthinfo/m/mentalretardation.htm Accessed on 23 May 2010 Stanton M. Cerebral Palsy: a Practical Guide. London. Little Brown Publishers. Read More