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DISCUSSION ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS In your replies, please respond to classmates who explored a different culture

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DISCUSSION ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS

In your replies, please respond to classmates who explored a different culture.

The student must then post 2 replies of at least 200-300 words. Any articles cited must have been published within the last five years. Acceptable sources include the course textbooks, the Bible, course presentations, course resources, and articles published in peer reviewed journals. Sources should be cited in APA format, current edition.

 

Please respond please to the following 2 posts separately

Posted by J.M

Learnings to Incorporate When Counseling Latino(a) Clients

The Latin American traditional gender roles of machismo and marianismo are strongly incorporated in the culture, yet often met with resistance by whites in the US, viewing the roles as a step backwards from feminist progress (Nuñez et al., 2016). The machismo role is one of male privilege with a focus on the male being responsible for the family, acting as head of the family and guiding the wife and children through life (Liberty University, n.d.). Marianismo is a gender role modeling the Virgin Mary, where the female takes on a role of nurturing the family while having a willingness to suffer for all family members, placing herself last (Liberty University, n.d.). Understanding these traditional roles is of great importance for a counselor who must understand and show respect for the culture, yet be attuned to nuances that may signal abuse or oppression. When counseling Latino(a) clients, a counselor may need to educate the wife on the differences between abuse and traditional cultural roles, as this may become confused within a relationship that involves domestic violence or psychological abuse (Liberty University, n.d.).

These gender roles may also impact the Latino(a) client’s susceptibility to negative emotions and cognitions (Nuñez et al., 2016). Nuñez et al. (2016) conducted a study across multiple Latino(a) cultures with participants from Puerto Rico, Mexico, Cuba, Central America, South America, Dominican Republic and other backgrounds where clients self-identified as Hispanic. The participants ranged in age from 18-74. The study revealed that particular aspects of the machismo and marianismo gender roles were correlated with greater levels of negative thought patterns and emotional disturbances. The results were similar across the individual cultural groups, sex, and acculturation levels. It is important for counselors to understand the specific components of these results, as they may inform the necessary treatment and interventions needed when working with multicultural clients.

The strong orientation towad family, or familismo, is another important concept for counselors to incorporate in their work with Latino(a) clients. Familismo involves a person taking careful consideration of family members when making decisions, even extended members and religious godparents (Hays & Erford, 2018). Clients often bring family members to counseling sessions for additional support because the family is so fundamental to the culture (Liberty University, n.d.). Dr. Elias Moitinho (Liberty University, n.d.) asserts that when a counselor is working solely with the client it may be appropriate to request for family members to be incorporated in the treatment process.

My Cultural Background and Challenges Expected When Counseling Latino(a) Clients

Living and intending to practice counseling in Florida once licensed, I fully anticipate having numerous Hispanic/Latino clients due to the high population of that cultural group in my state. I grew up and have spent most of my life in the Midwest and New England with minimal exposure to this cultural group. I recognize that my lack of experience is an obstacle to work through and prepare for my professional work. It is important that I find opportunities to develop relationships with Latino(a) individuals. I have begun to do this through my church and gym, and I am thoroughly enjoying the friendships that have begun with people from Cuba, Chile, Columbia, and Mexico.

Initially, I viewed my unfamiliarity with the culture only as a disadvantage, feeling unprepared to work with this client group. However, I can now also appreciate that I did not grow up with the discrimination toward this group that is so prevalent in Florida. I have interacted with many native Floridians who are adamant that the high levels of crime, murders, kidnappings, gangs, and drug trafficking are a result of the influx of immigrants to South Florida. It benefits me to have the perspective of an outsider as I listen to the stories and concerns of both native Floridians and immigrants.

The trauma experienced by many immigrants prior to leaving their homeland is horrific and the effects are seen for years, even a lifetime post-immigration (Rahill et al., 2018). It is important for counselors to advocate not only for their immigrant or multicultural clients but also for collaboration with social justice workers in the native countries to decolonize the existing perspectives in hopes of fighting the oppression, violence and psychological trauma being experienced (Enz, 2018). Scripture reminds us, “When they were few in number, a handful, and strangers there, wandering from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another, he let no one oppress them; for their sake he rebuked kings: ‘Do not touch my anointed, to my prophets do no harm’” (New American Bible, 1 Chronicles 16:19-22).

References

Enz, M. (2018). The Haitian flight for freedom in Maryse Condé’s Rêves amers and Marie-Célie Agnant’s Alexis d’Haïti. Contemporary French and Francophone Studies, 22(5), 553-561. doi: 10.1080/17409292.2018.1580470
Hays, D. G., & Erford, B. T. (2018). Developing multicultural counseling competence (3rd ed.). Pearson.

Liberty University (n.d.). Essentials for counseling Hispanics/Latino(a)s [video]. Retrieved May 3, 2021 from https://libertyuniversity.instructure.com/courses/69666/pages/watch-essentials-for-counseling-hispanics-slash-latino-a-s?module_item_id=7700567

New American Bible. (Revised Edition [NABRE], 2011). Books of the Bible Online. https://bible.usccb.org/bible (Original work published 1986)

Nuñez, A., González, P., Talavera, G. A., Sanchez-Johnsen, L., Roesch, S. C., Davis, S. M., Arguelles, W., Womack, V. Y., Ostrovsky, N. W., Ojeda, L., Penedo, F. J., & Gallo, L. C. (2016). Machismo, marianismo, and negative cognitive-emotional factors: Findings from the Hispanic community health study/study of Latinos sociocultural ancillary study. Journal of Latina/o psychology, 4(4), 202–217. https://doi.org/10.1037/lat0000050

Rahill, G. J., Joshi, M., & Shadowens, W. (2018). Best intentions are not best practices: Lessons learned while conducting health research with trauma-impacted female victims of nonpartner sexual violence in Haiti. Journal of Black Psychology, 44(7), 595-625. https://doi.org/10.1177/0095798418810054

 

Posted by K.J

During Module 3, I learned a lot about Native American culture and values. One of the themes that stuck with me the most is the roles that community plays in cultural identity development. For more traditional Native Americans, the tribe is an interdependent system of members seeing themselves as a part of a greater whole as opposed to one group composed of separate individuals (Garzon, n.d.; Hays & Erford, 2018). Identity rooted in their families and tribal heritage is not uncommon, unlike in majority culture (Hays & Erford, 2018). Another would be the difference in familial structure. A person does not have to be a blood relative to be considered family and it is not uncommon to claim those that are not blood relatives as family (Hays & Erford, 2018), which could be a helpful consideration when gathering genealogical information. It was also noted that members of the community and extended family are often involved with the raising of children, with grandparents generally playing a significant role, which may also differ from many mainstream American households (Hays & Erford, 2018; McGoldrick et al., 2005). Other aspects of counseling Native Americans to take into consideration that I made note of include but are not limited to: communication styles, the role of spirituality, treatment, and information regarding the history of Native Americans, which Hays and Erford (2018) and McGoldrick et al. (2005) listed as a key element in working with this population.

According to McGoldrick et al. (2005), for counseling with American Indians to be successful, counselors should be aware of three things – the differences between the Native and dominant cultures, the level of assimilation for each client and their family, and the impact of genocide. In a study conducted by Giordano et al. (2015), Native American participants were interviewed to gain their perspective on the education of Native culture and aspects of counseling. Fourteen participants were asked to give their views on what they feel is important about their culture as well as what they feel counselors and counselor educators should know. Across the domains that were discussed, cultural strengths and values, oppression, and areas of health needs appeared to be of higher importance to over half of the participants. I appreciated getting to learn about the perspectives on mental health and education from members of this population.

When I think of what could present as a struggle with me for working with this population, silence comes to mind. McGoldrick et al. (2005) asserted that while working with Native cultures, counselors need to be more aware of silence, non-verbal communication, and their urges to break silence, as these moments could be meaningful for the client and allow them to gather their thoughts. While working on counseling skills in other courses, I have already recognized some of my tendencies in these areas and have started to address them. While I have found that I am generally comfortable with silence in most settings, I recognized that this is not always the case within counseling. In the future, I will continue to work on being mindful of my habits and what each client may feel is important so I can be respectful of their values and needs.

References

Garzon, F. (n.d.) Native Americans. [PowerPoint slides]. Liberty University. https://libertyuniversity.instructure.com/courses/...

Giordano, A., Prosek, E., Schmit, M., & Wester, K. (2019). “We are still here”: Learning from Native American perspectives. Journal Of Counseling & Development, 98(2), 159-171. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcad.12310

Hays, D., & Erford, B. (2018). Developing multicultural counseling competence (3rd ed., pp. 394-426). Pearson.

McGoldrick, M., Giordano, J., & Garcia-Preto, N. (2005). Ethnicity & family therapy (3rd ed., pp. 43-53). Guilford Press.