[Learner Name]
COUN5336 – Counseling and Advocacy for Diverse Populations
My Aspirations for a Counseling Position
Upon graduation I would wish to be a counselor. Specifically I do aspire to work with the older members of the society specifically the retired army veterans. This group interests me because they are a very sensitive group of people. Veterans that exit the army have a unique set of psychological problems. Research has revealed that the rate of taking away their lifes in this group is on the rise (Corey, 2013).a good number of the have suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and to drown this stress have turned to drinking and are hence alcoholics. Long periods of being in the battle field have also served to alienate the veterans from their families that would have formed a social support system for the war veterans. This leaves them vulnerable and hence in need of counseling and psychological support. My passion for helping vulnerable senior members of the society is what makes me want to work with this unique group.
Diverse Group
Counselors and psychologists need to become conscious of diversity in culture and other parameters in a heterogeneous group of people. Most theories used in counseling psychology were developed using white middle class clients and hence need to be modified when used in other groups (Choudhuri et al, 2012).When sending messages in a diverse group the counselor needs to be careful so that a particular segment of the group does not feel prejudiced. Cohesiveness is also quite demanding to attain in a heterogeneous group than in a homogenous one. When the heterogeneity of a group arises from race it’s important to include more than one person from a particular race to avoid a situation in which the group views one person as a representative of the whole race especially when what is linked to that race tends to be negative (Budahn, 2011).Diversity in a group is not limited to race or ethnicity but also includes age, gender, disabilities and sexual orientations. All these diverse groups bring with them diverse biases and prejudices.Marginalised people may be suspicious of other people and may have feelings of hurt. The leader must be careful not to make assumptions or labels to members of the group. The counselor should help member to embrace the diversity and overlook their own biases and prejudices so that the counseling process can be successful. The army veterans were from different races, had served in different cadres and some had injuries from the war resulting in disability. They therefore needed specific therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder, peer mentoring and relationship counseling
Cultural Immersion Event
The event that I attended was a meeting of army veteran an old age home. The group consists of army veterans residing in the home and those from the environs. This meeting is held once every three months. It gives the veterans a chance to reconnect and share experiences to help them cope with the challenges that life out of the barracks pose. Since the commencing of the group the participants have reported great positive effects in the quality of their psychological health. The veterans were diverse in race, ethnicity and ranks. Before attending the meeting I thought the group was made of old men who are aloof. To my surprise the group consists of ladies too. They had been informed beforehand that they would receive a guest counselor hence they were expecting me.They welcomed me but commented that I was abit too young to comprehend the magnitude of their issues.Howevor they were all the same eager to listen to what I had to say. The topic that we discussed was on ways of dealing with post war trauma and using the knowledge from class the session was very successful. To fully be in sync with the community I did broad research on life in the military and the effects it can have on a retired army veteran.
Influence of Group on Attitudes, Values, Perceptions, Behavior, and Relations
Attitude plays a key role to uptake of counseling services among the army veterans. Most of them fear to face stigma and this makes a great barrier to the probability of the army veterans seeking counseling services especially if they are suffering from behavioral disorders. The values and attitudes that they hold of discipline and orderliness will also have a great influence on their acceptance of counseling. This is because in the military they are trained to always offer solutions and help and hence find it hard to be in a position that they are the ones in need of help (Rocky Mountain Region Disaster Mental Health Conference, & Doherty, 2009).The relationships that are formed in the military where instructions flow from the superiors to the lower cadre personnel can also have a great influence on acceptance of counseling services from a counselor that they view to be a junior.
Historical and Current Discrimination/Oppression
Oppressed people live a life feeling confined by barriers and forces that are not occasional or accidental but that are systematically related leaving them feeling disillusioned. Oppressed people develop feelings of shame, feelings of inadequacy and inferiority (Galbraith, 2000).Oppression can arise due to class difference, race or ethnicity. When the counseling services are offered by the perceived oppressor then the success of the counseling process may be undermined.
Influence of Client’s Culture on Cultural Sensitivity
Service and operational deployment in the military leaves a big mark in the lives of the veterans. They develop a strong sense of identity and belonging and they are only ready to work with counselors that they feel that sufficiently understand the unique mental issues that affect military officers.
The military impacts into a person a set of values that are aimed at making them bear the stress that result from the battle field. The stresses that they are exposed to in the battle field including the danger of facing death, humanitarian crisis make them numb their feelings. The military have been socialized to believe that consequences of an individual actions and beliefs affect the whole group and their survival is interdependent (Corey & California State University, 2013) .They also place high premise on punctuality, orderliness and discipline. The veterans have difficulty trying to adapt to a less rigorous and less structured life outside the military camps. It is from this premise that one should approach counseling for army veterans.
Culturally Relevant Strategies
For a client to maximally benefit from counseling session the strategies applied must be sensitive to the culture of the client.When counseling the army veterans, based on their experiences and training the following strategies are appopriate.First the counselor should express empathy this involves acceptance and reflective listening to facilitate change and relate with the experiences that cause stress in the veterans (Corey, 2013).The counselor should promote awareness of the consequences of unhelpful behaviors. Veterans tend to be rigid and for the counseling session to be successful the veterans should be encouraged to present their own argument for change. In the military the army officers are trained to follow orders without arguments and hence when carrying out a counseling session it is important to avoid arguments as they can be counterproductive. If the counselor senses resistance then that is a signal to change the counseling strategies. It is also important to avoid stereotypes. Finally it is important to let the veteran be responsible for choosing the interventions that should be applied to manage the situation at hand (Galbraith, 2000)This is because when one is allowed to make a choice they are more likely to follow the requirements of the intervention.
Communication in Counseling
During group counseling it is important to define goals that the counseling session will achieve clearly to the group. If the discussion is to be done in sub groups it is important to form them putting into account diversity of the members of the group (Choudhuri et al, 2012).It is also important to establish the norms that the discussions will follow. The counselor should manage the counseling process and be keen to recognize issues that hinder group progress.
Culturally Supported Counseling Interventions Sensitive to Diverse Characteristics and Experiences,
Counseling interventions that are sensitive to diverse cultures should identify barriers that arise when dealing with people from a different cultures, these differences can result due to differences in language interpretation, symbolism they attach to objects and expressions (Choudhuri et al, 2012).The counselor should then apply culturally sensitive and appropriate interventions that take into account the ethnicity, race and language barriers. The counselor should identify and make use of resources that are at his disposal to eliminate the language and communication barriers that exist between the counselor and the client. Finally the counselor should research to understand the culturally diverse needs of the client and how to manage them in the course of counseling.
How Counseling is influenced by Counselor Attitude and Beliefs
The counselor’s attitudes and beliefs will greatly influence the outcome of the counseling process. The counselor must practice what they advocate to the clients if the clients are to have faith in the counselor ((Rocky Mountain Region Disaster Mental Health Conference, & Doherty, 2009).The counselor must be self-aware and completely be at peace with their selves or else their personal insecurities can be passed on to the vulnerable clients. This makes the counselor’s self-awareness and management of personal issues important. A counselor that is not self-aware may not be able to identify and act sensitively to the client’s unique needs and this may make them fail to develop a true understanding of the client’s issues to be able to help them (Corey & California State University, 2013).The ethical beliefs of the counselor will affect the level to which she will apply ethical practices during counseling and this will influence if in the long run the client will have received help or not. The counselor should also be able to connect and show empathy with the client so as to be able to connect with them and gain their trust to be able to offer them assistance.
In conclusion counseling is a delicate process whose overall outcome can easily be negatively influenced by many factors some of which emanate from the counselor such as the counselor’s attitude, beliefs and even personal limitations. Many social economic factors that lead to existence of diversity in populations can also greatly affect the outcome of a counseling session and the counselor must be sensitive to manage the challenges that diversity present in the group. Past experience of the client also need to be well understood and managed by the counselor if the counseling process is to be a success. When all these are understood and managed by the counselor they are able to improve the quality of the client’s life by helping them to manage the challenges that they face.
References
Budahn, P. J. (2011). Veteran's guide to benefits. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books.
Choudhuri, D. D., Santiago-Rivera, A. L., & Garrett, M. T. (2012). Counseling & diversity. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning.
Corey, G. (2013). The art of integrative counseling. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole-Cengage Learning.
Corey, G., & California State University. (2013). Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy. Belmont, Calif: Wadsworth.
Galbraith, C. (2000). Cross Cultural Considerations in Health Care: One Hospital Responds. Minnesota Medicine, 83.
Rocky Mountain Region Disaster Mental Health Conference, & Doherty, G. W. (2009). Return to equilibrium: The proceedings of the 7th Rocky Mountain Region Disaster Mental Health Conference. Laramie, WY: Rocky Mountain Region Disaster Mental Health Institute Press.
