Culture, Counseling and Care Chapter 1 Culture, Counseling and Care Created by: Noah M.P. Spector and Shaofan Bu

Counseling: A cultural practice “All counseling interactions are cross cultural” Lives unfold and are spoken about in cultural contexts. The counseling conversation is itself a cultural ritual

Themes through the book Conversation Culture Care Meaning and story Power Social justice Collaborative dialogue Relationship Mindfulness

Conversation Talking is intervention We all know how to talk…. What is there to learn then? Familiar tools used in highly purposeful ways.

Culture What is “culture”? Ethnicity? Race? Star wars fans? Culture is the substance of counselling. “Culture is the water; we are the fish” Understand culture in pluralistic terms.

Understanding culture in pluralistic terms

Care Centering the client The best guide for our counseling practice is our care for the client. This care manifests differently in counseling practice as each client is unique

Meaning and story It is the meaning we make of events (the stories we tell about them) rather than the facts of the matter that constitute our lived realities

Meaning and story A same event can be viewed via different lenses Meaning as the client’s lens of viewing experience Meaning we make of things constitutes our lived reality Cultural location gives us the parameters of lived realities. Therapeutic conversation is both information exchange and world making

Power Power is not a thing, it is a process Both generative and oppressive

Power Power vis. a vis. client’s story Power is about which version of reality dominates our narrative Power is about the accessibility of meanings Power between counselor and client Professional counselors use “legitimized” constructs. (e.g. expert knowledge and diagnostic criteria).

Power Power and Ethics Our title and degrees may invite clients to undervalue their skills and knowledge The power associated with being a professional helper can lead us to overlook that our perspective is one among many

Social justice What is normal/abnormal, functional dysfunctional? Who dictates these terms? Individualism Focusing on a dysfunction and comparison to “norms” diverts our attention from contextual factors.

Social justice Clients as cultural beings Makes sense of their experience and actions in a wider culture. Should counseling stop at the office door? Consider social barriers to mental health…

Collaborative dialogue Working with the client instead of working on the client Counselors see clients as active agents in their lives. Conversations should promote this agency. Being open to surprises means being responsive while not abandoning theories and models In addition to discovery, creating. In addition to being, becoming.

Relationship Is there a key ingredient that makes therapy work? Counseling is not a “pill”, not a chemical reaction, nor a one way transaction What guides us then? “practice-based evidence” The relationship between the client and counselor is very important to therapy outcome

Mindfulness Be mindful: the stakes are (always) high. Awareness of visual cues, verbal cues, thoughts, ideas and feelings “Know thyself” Awareness of your body and mind, internal dialogue (how are my theories affecting my listening?) “Attention supports intention” The more we are aware the more we can base our practice in care