CHAPTER 7

BARRIERS TO MULTICULTURAL COUNSELING AND

THERAPY: INDIVIDUAL AND FAMILY

PERSPECTIVES

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Challenge for counselors

1. Reach out and understand the worldviews, values and circumstances

2. Free self of own cultural conditioning3. Develop new and sensitive

approaches4. Play new roles of helping

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Counseling and Therapy

A process of interpersonal interaction, communication, and social influence.

Characteristics of Counseling/Therapy

For effective therapy to occur, the therapist and client must be able to send and receive both verbal and nonverbal messages appropriately and accurately.

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Effective therapy

Breakdowns in communicationSocial influenceMisunderstandingsCulture clashes in the cultural episode

Generic Characteristics Of Counseling/Therapy

1. Culture-bound values—individual-centered, verbal/emotional/behavioral expressiveness, communication patterns from client to counselor, openness and intimacy, analytic/linear/verbal (cause-effect) approach, and clear distinctions between mental and physical well-being.

2. Class-bound values—strict adherence to time schedules (50-minute, once or twice-a-week meeting), ambiguous or unstructured approach to problems, and seeking long-range goals or solutions.

3. Language variables—use of Standard English and emphasis on verbal communication.

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Generic Characteristics of Counseling

Western basedShared common components of White

culture values and beliefsMainly middle and upper class valuesHave influenced the actual practice of

counselingSee tables on pages 182-184

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YAVIS syndrome( Schofield, 1964)

Therapists preferenceYoungAttractiveVerbal Intelligent successful

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QUOID (Sundberg, 1981)

Therapy is ‘not’ forQuietUglyOldIndigentDissimilar culturally

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Hence the 3 Major Barriers

1.Class-bound values2.Language bias and misunderstanding3.Culture-bound values

May be impediments to effective counseling.

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Culture

Those things that people have learned to do, believe, value, and enjoy.

Totality of the ideals, beliefs, skills, tools, customs and institutions into which each member of society is born.

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Marginal Person

A person’s inability to form dual ethnic identification because of bicultural membership.

Pressure to conform to dominant culture

‘different is bad’ or deficient

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Class-Bound values

Low socioeconomic class stressors undermine mental and physical health of clients

Financial resources and class biases affect delivery of services

Classism and discrimination can appear in assessments, diagnosis and treatment

Insight vs. survival ‘Minority standard time’Present time vs future timeUnfamiliar with process vs. resistant

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Problems and concerns of many groups…

Are related to systemic and external forces rather than internal psychological problems.

Dealing with such factors may be more helpful than self-exploration and insight.

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Be careful not to…

Overgeneralize or stereotype.

Avoid being rigid.

CULTURE BOUND VALUES OF COUNSELING/THERAPY

1. Focus on the Individual

Counseling promotes individualism, autonomy, and achievement, YET

Many people of color operate in a more collectivistic fashion.

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Individualism versus Collectivism

Competition Status Recognition Achievement ‘own person’ Autonomy ‘I’

Family Group Collective society ‘We’

CULTURE BOUND VALUES OF COUNSELING/THERAPY

2. Verbal/Emotional/Behavioral Expressiveness

Many counselors and therapists tend to emphasize the fact that verbal/emotional/behavioral expressiveness is important in individuals, YET

Many cultural groups value the restraint of strong feelings.

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Expressiveness versus non- expressiveness

Verbal Articulate Express thoughts and

feelings clearly Assertive Stand up for rights

Silence may be valued Patterns of

communication (status)

Maturity and wisdom Control is valued

CULTURE BOUND VALUES OF COUNSELING/THERAPY

3. Insight

This characteristic assumes that it is mentally beneficial for individuals to obtain insight or understanding into their deep underlying dynamics and causes, YET

Several cultural groups and those from a lower socioeconomic status (SES) often do not perceive insight as appropriate or helpful.

CULTURE BOUND VALUES OF COUNSELING/THERAPY

4. Self-Disclosure (Openness and Intimacy)

Most forms of counseling and psychotherapy tend to value one’s ability to self-disclose and to talk about the most intimate aspects of one’s life, YET

Some cultures may not value self-disclosure for fear it brings shame to the family, and others may not feel comfortable self-disclosing to White therapists due to mistrust and oppression.

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Other culture variables

Cause and effect vs. intuition and naturalLinear, rational, analytical

Mental and physical functioning Ambiguous vs. structure

CULTURE BOUND VALUES OF COUNSELING/THERAPY

5. Scientific Empiricism

Counseling and psychotherapy in Western culture and society have been described as being highly linear, analytic, and verbal in their attempt to mimic the physical sciences, YET

Many cultural groups emphasize the harmonious aspects of the world and minimize the importance of analytical inquiries.

CLASS-BOUND VALUES OF COUNSELING/THERAPY

To effectively work with lower-class clients, counselors need to: understand their own biases, understand how poverty affects the lives of people, be cognizant that sometimes behaviors for survival are

pathologized, and consider information-giving activities and a more active

approach.

Language Barriers

The practice of using children as interpreters can cause several problems for families of color and other cultures.

More bilingual counselors are needed.

Use of Standard English in health care may unfairly discriminate against those from a bilingual or lower SES background.

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Language-Barriers

Children translatorsRegional differences within countriesNonverbal cuesEbonicsEmotion is hard to translateLanguage problems with assessments

and tests

“American” Cultural Assumptions And Multicultural Family Therapy

Counselors need to become culturally aware of their own values, biases, and assumptions about human behavior (especially as it pertains to the definition of family).

It is important to become aware of the worldview of the culturally different client and how that client views the definition, role, and function of the family.

Appropriate intervention strategies need to be devised.

Value Preference Considerations

Time DimensionRelational DimensionActivity DimensionPeople-Nature RelationshipNature of People Dimension

Implications for Practice

Become aware of the generic characteristics of counseling.

Advocate for multilingual services.Provide community counseling services in the client’s

natural environments (schools, churches, etc.).Help clients deal with forces such as poverty,

discrimination, prejudice, and immigration stress in contrast to developing personal insight through self-exploration.

Implications for Practice

Understand the different cultural conceptions of family.

Families cannot be understood apart from the cultural, social, and political dimensions.

Learn the definition of family for specific groups.

Be careful not to overgeneralize or stereotype.