4-1, 4-2, 5-1, 5-2 Comments: Cultural Considerations

4-1, 4-2, 5-1, 5-2 COMMENTS
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4-1: There are two major steps that a professional or addiction counselor can utilize in order to set a client at ease and in a manner that provides meaning to them. These steps include: (i) becoming aware of one's own worldviews, values, assumptions, and biases on human behavior and (ii) understanding different worldviews in a culturally diverse environment and developing culturally appropriate strategies of intervention, especially when working with clients from diverse cultures. The above steps can be applied in all ethnic groups including Latino Americans, African Americans and Asian Americans. For example, when it comes to expressing emotions among Asian Americans, African Americans, and Latino Americans, the different cultural beliefs affect interpersonal behaviors as well as interpretation. Many Asian cultures view restraint from strong feelings as a sign of maturity, control, and wisdom (Neimeyer, 1997). The Latinos are a contrast to this kind of interpersonal behavior and interpretation, and often value emotional as well as physical closeness when interacting with each other. Similarly, the African Americans incorporate affection and passion as a sign of authenticity, humanness, and sincerity. Counselors need to be aware of such differences in cultural dispositions and accommodate each one of them into their therapeutic interventions across various cultures.
4-2: The best first step to take when beginning to work with a client struggling with substance use is to address the challenge of race. Addressing race is considered extremely important because it is the same race issue which brings about racial animosity and cultural differences on issues pertaining substance abuse (Neblett Jr., Terzian, & Harriott, 2010). Racial animosity and cultural differences are known to cause impediments to beneficial therapeutic relationships. Knowing the race status of the client also helps in developing effective therapeutic strategies specific to that individual. For example, while the race issue may be a difficult subject for both White therapists and clients, the same cannot be said of African American therapists and clients who appear comfortable while discussing race and racism issues.
5-1: Native Americans comprise 40% of the total United States population according to the 2005 US census. Native Americans are generally described as reserved since the English settlers possessed their ancestral land (Mathiesen, 2012). They have consistently looked down upon the contemporary society and u...