A counselor is considered as a professional who have the ability to facilitate an individual to transform his or her character. In the past, most of the people used to assume that counselors should only be visited by persons who are facing many mental challenges. As a result, the majority of the people used to refrain from visiting counselors. Consequently, the society was characterized by a significant population of people who were suffering from psychological illnesses (Lago, 2006). Counselors facilitate individuals to cope or recover from psychological illnesses. There are various factors that counselors need to put into consideration whenever they are handling a patient. Counselors enhance their proficiency at facilitating individuals to recover from their psychological illnesses.
Culture has direct implications on the success of a counselling and guidance program. It is imperative for a counselor to inquire about the cultural background of the patient. This is largely because there are certain cultural practices which the counselor may not be aware and they will have implications on the recovery of the patient. There are also numerous instances whereby patients cease undergoing through guidance and counselling sessions simply because that individual is being given advice which is in contravention with his or her cultural practices (Sue & Sue, 2012). Undoubtedly, people who are undergoing treatment for substance abuse require the support of their family. It is extremely likely that family has the greatest influence on the character and perception of such individuals. This is, mainly, because human beings tend to spend a substantial part of their lifetime with their families. Some may argue that human beings tend to spend a significant portion with their friends, but that hypothesis is not entirely true. Human beings tend to change their friends on a periodic basis. However, they do not change their families. The only changes, which can be made to a family structure is through intermarriage or adoption.
Counselors need to fulfil all the cultural requirements that will facilitate the patient to be in full cooperation during the entire process of counselling and guidance. If there are certain authorization that are supposed to be obtained from certain cultural leaders prior to the revaluation of certain types of information, counselors should seek such permissions. The counselor will be playing the critical role of ensuring that he or she is administering the most appropriate medication through the most suitable channel (Trusty & Sandhu, 2002). This is because there is a broad variety of instances whereby patients do not respond to the treatment simply because of the methodology being applied to administer the treatment. Once the counselor has sought the necessary authorization, he or she can go ahead and commence the process of treating the patient.
Substance abuse is a character that is developed either through self initiative or influence. In most cases, substance abusers acquire this character through influence. The underlying denominator of all substance abusers is that they normally suffer from a certain form of psychological illnesses. As a result, counselors need to evaluate the psychological status of the patient as part of the counselling and guidance program (Trusty & Sandhu, 2002). During this appraisal, the counselor should seek to establish any possible underlying factors that would have catalyzed the development of the character of substance abuse. There are certain cultures that encourage the consumption of alcohol. For instance, the majority of the African traditional ceremonies involved the consumption of traditional liquor. However, only adults are allowed to consume this form of liquor. This is an attribute that makes young people in the community long to grow up in order to commence consuming the liquor.
As a result, once such individuals transit into adulthood, they commence excessive consumption of alcohol due to the excitement brought about by their newly acquired status in the society. If such a character is not regulated, it is highly likely they will progress into becoming an alcoholic. Such an individual may not realize the need for counselling and guidance (Sue & Sue, 2012). This is because he or she is deriving his or her importance in the society of the ability to consume alcohol. The counselor needs to be conscious of such underlying factors when she or he is facilitating a patient to recover from such a condition. The counselor needs to design the counselling and guidance program in accordance with the cultural practices of that individual. The counselor can clarify some of the cultural practices to the patient. For instance, the counselor can inform the patient that the permission to consume alcohol is an indication of adulthood. However, the excessive consumption of alcohol is harmful and it amounts to substance abuse. The fundamental reasons as to why adults are allowed to consume alcohol whereas children are not should be outlined because adults are capable of regulating their consumption of alcohol, which prevent them from addiction.
In conclusion, cultural factors and cultural groups play an important role in determining behaviours and substance abuse. This has led to the development of family centered therapy focused towards the particular group affected by substance abuse. For example, in the African social system where the counselors need to understand the special needs of young people transiting to adulthood and adolescents. This is because of the high likelihood of such young people indulging in drug, alcohol and substance abuse.
References
Lago, C. (2006). Race, Culture and Counselling. London: Open University Press.
Sue, D., & Sue, D. W. (2012). Counseling the Culturally Diverse: Theory and Practice. New York: Wiley.
Trusty, J., & Sandhu, D. S. (2002). Multicultural Counseling: Context, Theory and Practice, and Competence. New York: Nova Science Publishers.
