Counseling African Americans Essay

Sue and Sues Chapter 14 Counseling Afri preempt Americans spends a great deal of effort exploring cultural particulars and corresponding clinical implications while working with African Americans factors such as family dynamics, educational orientation, spirituality, and the pressures and mark of racism and marginalization. This offered me perspective through a lens much broader than my own somewhat narrow, predominantly white, and fairly privileged way of relating to the world. Before understanding cultur whollyy appropriate interventions, one must have an understanding of the cultural context or the cultural word of an individual.For me, this first means that differences must be noted, either literally in family with the African American leaf node or simply as a clinical observation I make on my own. Of runway the difference in the two will depend on the client, context, and habitual relevancy in the mo manpowert. In my own flummox, noting racial difference aloud with a cli ent has been most helpful in that it gives permission for the potentially taboo topic of race and differences to be considered, brought into the space at a later time, and stock-still into the forefront of consciousness.Apart from the explicit healing(p) relationship, noting difference is a personal reminder that I am no expert on anyones experience but my own, I may make mistakes (and probably will), I should steer clear of assumptions, its ok to be curious, and to do my homework. Once a general understanding of differences is established, then one can begin to consider appropriate therapeutic interventions. Lets take the issue of racism and discrimination the spin-off of these atrocities oftentimes manifests as defense and survival mechanisms in Black Americans.Which can lead to a general mistrust or as its tell (by Sue and Sue) a healthy cultural paranoia, as a way of coping. This mistrust can be of individuals, entire races of people, the govern handst, social service provid ers With this in mind, its important to determine what the clients feelings and understandings about therapy are. To touch base and explain what kind of therapy I engage in, how it can be helpful to them, and what can be expected of our time together. Hopefully this will help to assuage uneasy feelings of fear of the unknown or mistrust, as well as adapt up a foundation for a healthy therapeutic compact.Although Sue and Sues Afrocentric perspective can be helpful it can as well as simultaneously be viewed as reductive. Its important not to discount individual differences by universalizing traits of African Americans. Self cannot be defined as a unitary concept evolving from a single defining variable, such as race or gender (Williams, 1999). For instance, not all women are nurturing, caring, and relational. Similarly, not all African Americans possess an African ethos of communalism or spirituality. Race, class, sexual orientation, and gender are all complex interactive component s that make up the self-importance.To approach a client through the lens of only one of these variables, means potentially silencing a central component of their identity. Additionally, it is also necessary to consider an internal state without see to the social demands of each variable. Collectively, these considerations can aide to a more holistic view when working with African American clients. Part Two After disbursal a year in practicum at the SF county lock away, I feel as though Ive had a fairly decent introduction to working with African American fe manfuls.When I began practicum I had had very little training in diversity or cross-cultural counseling. Turns out that a year in the jail was one large training in diversity and cross-cultural counseling Now Im able to pin my personal experience against the cultures and gauge my success as a culturally competent therapist. When assessing my strengths, I find that I possess a keen and tremendously empathic understanding of h ow the stress of racism, sexism, and oppression can manifest in African American women. Oftentimes the byproduct of this stress is what brings the individual to jail.As a clinician, I can confidently say that I am able to enter the therapeutic relationship with a greater capacity for empathy because of this understanding and build a strong alliance as an ally as well as a therapist. Im not afraid to make mistakes and have no attachment to be right these qualities will only support me as a clinician. In addition, my upfront demeanor and willingness to self-disclose have had a remarkable impact on the therapeutic relationship. My empathy is strongly with women and their plight of identifying and addressing all the isms that stand between them and equality, wholeness, and health.Frequently, those isms are at the hands of men and I certainly have a bias towards this, and towards men in general. Its no accident that I spent an entire year of practicum working solely with women although it wasnt a conscious choice, I believe on some level I chose not to work with men. I have incredible biases towards men as perpetrators and oppressors and men and their privilege, African American men as well as Caucasian. These biases keep me terrified at the thought of working with male clients. I imagine heaps and heaps of countertransference between male clients and myself countertransference that is full of pain and rage.Im not sure that I have much to offer men inside the therapeutic space. I come int believe this to be my final answer, I just know that I have some work to do around my relationship with men before I make the leap of working with them in such sacred space. Essentially, it all comes down to two core qualities- and they are unimportance and flexibility humility in all that I think I know and the flexibility to shift or discard that association. My experience of working with, knowing, and reading about African American culture, difference, and oppression may or may not serve me as a therapist at any stipulation moment.What works for and makes sense in the context of Client A, may not be so for Client B, and vise versa. Although it is crucial to have fundamental knowledge of the legacy of oppression against African American people and to consider factors such as interdependence, collectivism, and emotional vitality as presumed long- standing black personality traits, I must also be able to draw connections between those factors and the individual experience- much like the womanist techniques mentioned in Carmen Braun Williams article African American Women, Afrocentrism and womens lib Implications for Therapy.As a therapist, I am responsible for guiding and supporting the client in making the shift from object to subject transferring ownership of self from one whose self is externally determined to one who is self- determining (Freire, 1990). And practice practice practice, with an open heart, ears, and mind. References Braun Williams, C . (1999). African American women, afrocentrism and feminism Implications for therapy. Women & Therapy, Vol. 22(4) 1999. Freire, P. (1990). Pedagogy of the oppressed. tender York Continuum. Sue, D. & Sue, D. (2008). Counseling the culturally diverse Theory and practice, Chapter 14.