Cultural Diversity in Any Nation is Constantly Increasing - Essay Example

Cultural diversity in any nation is constantly increasing. Technological advancement has shrunk the world and has increased the possibility and capability of people interacting with people from different cultural backgrounds. Culture portrays the image of the unit and is the sum total of the values, attitude, behavior, and beliefs of the people, which holds the organization together. Culture speaks of the personality of the person or the country. Any amount of interaction with people from different cultural backgrounds cannot bring about a change in the native culture. For instance, the western culture believes in the primacy of the individual whereas eastern culture is governed by thinking collectively on centrally important values. While the eastern culture emphasizes submission to authority, the western culture demands personal freedom. I realized this while I was counseling a person from Jewish background. It immediately made me conscious of what was required of me as a counselor. It was a learning experience and I realized the areas where I need to hone up my skills as a multicultural counselor. I recently interviewed a Jew client who had approached me under the instructions of rabbi. There is a tendency amongst the Jews to first approach a rabbi in case of any mental or emotional problems. Rabbis seldom refer them to psychotherapists but when they do suggest meeting a counselor, the Jews seldom disobey. So this is how this client reached me. He was unwilling to give much of personal details and I had to refer back to the rabbi so that I could help the client. He had received a severe financial setback due to separation in the family and had lost his mental balance. The Orthodox Jews do not want their personal problems to be discussed outside their community, which is another reason that they are not keen to go to the counselor from the secular world (Schnall, 2006). The Jews were apprehensive of approaching a counselor unless they share similar religious beliefs and cultural values. Having undergone training in multicultural counseling I was aware that clients come with all sorts of problems that include relational, sexual, existential, moral, material and spiritual problems. The existential problems of people have remained unchanged even after thousands of years. Sue and Sue (1990) contend that it is the personal and professional responsibility of the counselor to be aware of the cultural differences, values, biases and behavior (cited by Freedman). Based on these, I develop appropriate strategies to provide support to clients from different cultural backgrounds. Hence I immediately became alert when I sensed resistance on the part of the client. Moral values are very difficult to assess in a multicultural environment and I had read that while dealing with the Jews, the counselor needs to understand the resistance arises out of the stigma attached to receiving mental health services. The resistance should not be misunderstood as paranoia, says Schnall (2006). I was also aware that clients come with preconceived notions from orthodox backgrounds as I did have similar experience with other Asians. For the Jews, the ego is at play because they perceive it a personal weakness if they have to approach a counselor. They feel they can find all answers in Judaism and hence this is setback for them. Ideally they would prefer to go to a Jew counselor but there are very few available and it is with great hesitation that they approach any other counselor. I could perceive vast difference between his background and mine. For them religions is an important and integral part of their daily life, but for us in the west life revolves around individualism, materialism, and secularism. In fact religious beliefs are on the decline in the west or at least it is not a part of the daily routine. This is the main cause of difference in the way of living. In the west science rules the daily life which is why counseling is prevalent whereas in orthodox culture like the Jews, counseling is taken as a weakness. They usually turn to an elder in the family or community for support before they are forced to approach a counselor. As I was attempting to ask him probing questions, once again I encountered difficulties. They do not like confronting them directly about their problems whereas in the west we get to the problem directly. They prefer a subtle form of communication and so I had to hold myself at certain points, allow him to get composed before I asked anything again. At the outset he had taken assurance from me that his problems would not be discussed with any other member of their community. This is in any case the principle of counseling but a client from the west would not need such an assurance, it is an accepted norm but the Jew client needed it in so many words. This demonstrated the taboos and restrictions in their culture. While differences in language are a common occurrence, what makes it even more difficult is the difference in body language and the facial expressions. As he was talking and I wanted to interrupt to ask a question, I made a non-verbal gesture with my hand but he refused to stop. The Jews do not like any interruptions while they are talking and I learnt to allow him to finish before asking the next question. I realized that people from different cultural background and perhaps they would avoid counseling if the counselor was not sensitive to their feelings or did not understand their culture. The techniques have to be efficiently tailored in a multicultural environment. Individualism is not viewed positively in all cultures. In fact according to Schnall, they are even scared that the therapists and the counselors would challenge their values and try to convert their religious beliefs as they come from a decadent secular world. When I posed a question whether his father had left any will, which could help avert misunderstandings in the family, it was not accepted well. Even discussing about their father is considered against the values in their culture. I suggested workouts and games to release stress but they consider this a waste of valuable time where as in the west a lot of emphasis is laid on such exercise for rejuvenation. The Jews particularly are unfamiliar with the events in the secular world because of their social isolation. This seclusion further adds to the problems faced by the counselor. The Jews believe in fate, in God and accept that whatever happens is due to divine intervention. Their illnesses too are associated as a form of punishment even though we as counselors we can find scientific reasons for their illness. When this Jew client refused to consider taking medicines as he was under fast, I had to request the rabbi to persuade him into it. I took it as an aberrant behavior until the rabbi explained to me that these were the norms under the religion. He nevertheless explained to the Jew that under certain circumstances fast can be broken. Hence it is important for a counselor to understand the difference between the two situations. I was actually trying to make him understand his own problems and ultimately derive his own therapy but he insisted that since he had come to me, I should provide him the ready made tonic or solution to his problems. In the west, we usually make the person conscious of his own drawbacks and ask his suggestions on healing. The Jews consider it their right to find an answer because they have paid for it and want an answer or suggestion how to overcome the problem. Multicultural awareness is a cognitive and affective process that leads to a positive attitude towards cultural differences (Collins & Pieterse, 2007). If the counselors are aware of their own cultural heritage and worldviews, they are at the same time cognizant of how other cultural heritage and worldviews are different. They are aware of the existence and dynamism of racism. Skilled counselor should know of the different cultural traits and they are aware of how their responses with the client would determine the success of the therapy. I agree with Schnall who suggests that counselors or therapists should be in regular touch with the rabbis if they want to succeed in the therapy concerning the Jews. The counselor should understand the nuances of the client in the sense that he should be able to convince the Orthodox Jew that a healthy mind is essential to serve the Almighty and this requires therapy. This implies that the language that the counselor speaks should be what the client understands. Some counselors have even added prayers as a therapy on the treatment of older Jews. This experience and my prior experience as a multicultural counselor have taught me to insist that clinical staff avoid the western mode of dressing and adhere to a modest dress code. Besides, having a female clinical staff for male patients in some communities does not work because of sexual taboos they carry. They have to be treated with respect and sensitivity. Thus it was a learning experience for me even though I did have training in multicultural counseling, this just demonstrates that training identifies not sufficient. One needs to have a practical experience in handling clients from entirely different backgrounds, values and culture. References: Collins, N.M & Pieterse, A.L (2007). Critical incident analysis based training: An approach for developing active radical/cultural awareness. Journal of counselling & development, 85, 14-23. Freedman, K. F., (1999), Multicultural Counseling, 17 Oct 2007 Schnall, E. (2006). Multicultural counseling and the orthodox Jew, .Journal of Counseling & Development, 84, 276-182 Read More