What are the primary problems with the concept of race and what are the social ?????and political implications of using race to define and study

Please pick one of the following questions and write at least one paragraph (5-6 complete, fully thought-out, error-free, sentences), detailing your thoughts. In addition, please reply to at least two other classmates' threads in at least 3-4 complete, fully thought-out, error-free, sentences.

What are the primary problems with the concept of race and what are the social and political implications of using race to define and study groups of people?
Using Brown and Landrum-Brown’s dimensions, describe the dimensions across which cultural characteristics are defined.
Select one of the four cultures describe by M. Ho and compare its cultural characteristics to those of Northern European culture in the following dimensions: nature, time orientation, people relations, work and activity, and human nature. How might these differences manifest themselves in the helping relationship?
Discuss the consequences of the movement from “primitive” to “civilized” culture.
What are the pros and cons of employing an alternative helping model, as opposed to an adaptive or adjusted model?

Cultural Diversity: A Primer for the Human Services

By Jerry V. Diller

Chapter 5

Understanding Culture and Cultural Differences

Learning Objectives (1 of 2)

5-1 Define culture and identify cultural differences among populations.

5-2 Distinguish between the different dimensions of culture.

5-3 Examine the key aspects of the helping profession as they relate to multicultural counseling.

5-4 Recall definitions of mental health.

Learning Objectives (2 of 2)

5-5 Compare conflicting cross-cultural service models.

5-6 Contrast adapting generic models and evolving culturally sensitive models.

5-7 Identify cross-cultural treatment models.

What Is Culture? (1 of 2)

Culture consists of traditional ideas, values, and actions.

It is learned, shared, and passed through generations.

What Is Culture? (2 of 2)

Culture defines our paradigm (the set of shared assumptions about how the world works) and defines our perceptions and realities, informing our view of what is real and what is right.

It is also a way of learning to respond to life’s common problems.

Unique paradigms, developed by different cultures, are protected and defended.

Culture Versus Race

Race is a problematic biological factor, while culture is a social factor.

Issues with the concept of race include:

Variability within physical characteristics

Emotionally and politically charged connotations

History of race-related oppression

Opportunity for pseudoscientific arguments for inferiority among people of color

Social irrelevance in the context of the U.S. historical perception of two groups: “White” and “Of Color”

The Dimensions of Culture (1 of 5)

Differences are referred to as dimensions of worldview (Brown and Landrum-Brown, 1995) and include:

Psychobehavioral modality: Mode of activity that is preferred within a culture

Active engagement (doing)

Passive experiencing (being)

Experiencing with the intention of evolving (becoming)

The Dimensions of Culture (2 of 5)

Axiology: Interpersonal values that are taught in a culture

Competition vs. cooperation

Emotional restraint vs. expressiveness

Direct vs. indirect verbal expression

Help seeking vs. saving face

Ethos: Widely held beliefs within a cultural group’s social interactions

Independence vs. interdependence

Individual rights vs. honor and family protection

Egalitarian vs. authoritarian

Control and dominance vs. harmony and deference

The Dimensions of Culture (3 of 5)

Epistemology: Preferred ways of learning in a culture

Cognitive vs. affective/intuitive

Logic: Type of reasoning processes members use

Either-or thinking vs. both-and thinking vs. circular logic

Ontology: Views on the nature of reality

Objective vs. spiritual vs. both

Concept of time: How time is experienced within a culture

Clock-based vs. event-based vs. cyclical

The Dimensions of Culture (4 of 5)

Concept of self: Identification of members as independent beings or as part of a greater collective

Individual self vs. extended self

The Dimensions of Culture (5 of 5)

Societies also have cultural forms (e.g., ritual practices, behavioral prescriptions, and symbols) that support the dimensions of the culture, in addition to unique felt experiences of living

Comparing Cultural Paradigms in America (1 of 5)

Cultural paradigms differ between Whites and four cultures of color in America:

Asian American

Native American

African American

Latin American

Comparing Cultural Paradigms in America (2 of 5)

Nature and the environment

European Americans prefer mastery over nature.

Cultures of color live in harmony with nature.

Comparing Cultural Paradigms in America (3 of 5)

Time orientation

European Americans are future-oriented.

Planning, producing, controlling

Compartmentalized and incremental

Asian and Latino/a cultures are past-present-oriented.

Past history is alive and influences present reality.

Native American and African American cultures are present-oriented.

Focus on here and now

Comparing Cultural Paradigms in America (4 of 5)

People relations

European Americans focus on the individual and actualization of the self.

Cultures of color have a collateral focus, involving doing things for the family.

Work and activity

European, Asian, and African Americans are doing oriented, with a focus on initiating activity to reach a specific goal.

Latino/a and Native Americans are being-becoming oriented, with a focus on process and the present moment.

Comparing Cultural Paradigms in America (5 of 5)

Human nature

European and African Americans perceive human nature as having the potential for good and bad.

Asian, Latino/a, and Native Americans hold the view that human nature is good.

Are Theories of Helping Culture-Bound?

Approaches to working cross-culturally are either emic, or etic

Emic: Looking at a culture in light of its indigenous concepts and theories

For instance, health service provision with the understanding of the role of traditional healers

Etic: Looking at a culture from an external lens

For instance, the provision of health care services with the assumption that a given approach is appropriate for all cultural backgrounds

Key Aspects of the Helping Process (1 of 3)

There are four key aspects of the helping process that are potentially problematic:

Verbal expressiveness and self-disclosure

Cultures of color often do not feel comfortable talking about themselves with strangers and are unlikely to respond well to demands for self-disclosure.

Reluctances should not be mistaken for defensiveness, depression, shyness, or passiveness.

Setting long-term goals

Clients of color are more action-oriented and want concrete advice for their problems.

Directive approaches are received better than long-term goals setting, which may seem too abstract and frustrating.

Key Aspects of the Helping Process (2 of 3)

Autoplastic vs. alloplastic approach

Autoplastic approaches place importance on helping the client change to adapt to a situation.

Alloplastic approaches place importance on changing the environment.

Perspective based on perceptions of locus of control and locus of responsibility

Autoplastic vs. alloplastic approach

Asian American culture stresses passive acceptance of reality and focuses on adjusting one’s perception

African Americans prefer to change the environment rather than change themselves.

Northern European culture encourages the confrontation of obstacles.

Key Aspects of the Helping Process (3 of 3)

Definition of mental health

Helping professions apply Northern European views of health and encourage clients to strive toward these characteristics.

Northern European values of health are related to the self (self-reliance, self-actualization).

Cultures of color give less importance to individual autonomy, instead focusing on the health of the extended self or larger collective.

Collective Personality

The example of Arabs/Muslims

Collective social system

A person’s psychology and personal structure are organized around their membership in the group.

Traits include:

Intrafamilial conflict instead of intrapsychic

Mechanisms such as Mosayara (getting along and reacting in socially acceptable ways) and Istighaba (expressing authentic feelings away from social observation)

Collective Versus Individual Treatment Models (1 of 2)

Collective treatment models depend on interaction with other group members to achieve therapeutic outcomes.

Mode of group work is especially helpful when addressing collective trauma.

Utilizes a narrative approach to help the individual incorporate his or her trauma

Collective Versus Individual Treatment Models (2 of 2)

Benefits include:

View of physical and mental issues as communal issues rather than individual problems

Encouraging the use of a broader range of interventions (e.g., expressive arts, rituals, rites of passage, celebration) to bond communities together and facilitate healing

More intensive and short-term.

Encouraging the emergence of new behaviors

Facilitating individual healing through multiple witnessing

Conflicting Cross-Cultural Service Models (1 of 6)

Adjusting the helping model to accommodate a culturally diverse client requires:

Altering expectations around self-disclosure, verbal openness, and fluency

Adjusting the level of directive problem-solving utilized

Adapting the view of where change should take place

Individual or environment

Conflicting Cross-Cultural Service Models (2 of 6)

Sue and Zane (1987) suggest two additional strategies:

Ensuring the client feels understood in terms of their cultural viewpoint

Ensuring the client receives immediate benefit or reinforcement from the helping process

Conflicting Cross-Cultural Service Models (3 of 6)

Eight characteristics of “primitive” culture that have been lost (Diamond, 1987):

Nurturance of the individual

Engaging relationships throughout life

Forms of institutionalized deviance

Celebration and fusion of the sacred through ritual

Engagement with nature

Conflicting Cross-Cultural Service Models (4 of 6)

Eight characteristics of “primitive” culture that have been lost (Diamond, 1987):

Participation in cultural forms

Equating goodness, beauty, and the natural environment

Socioeconomic support as a natural inheritance

Conflicting Cross-Cultural Service Models (5 of 6)

The loss of traditional culture results in a radical increase in stress, dysfunction, and mental illness (Diamond, 1987).

Because of these effects of the Western paradigm, some researchers propose alternative models, such as the following:

The creation of ethnic-specific (emic) models which dictate culturally sensitive approaches for members of that community

A return to traditional healing practices from the client’s culture

Conflicting Cross-Cultural Service Models (6 of 6)

The loss of traditional culture results in a radical increase in stress, dysfunction, and mental illness (Diamond, 1987).

Because of these effects of the Western paradigm, some researchers propose alternative models, such as the following:

The incorporation of traditional healing practices with variously acculturated clients

Culturally Sensitive Models

Culturally sensitive models:

Include culture as a central issue

Acknowledge social disparities

Include social justice as an orienting principle

Are nonpathologizing, strength-based, and nonhierarchical in their structure

Truly multicultural counseling will occur when dominant models of helping lose their Northern European perspective.

Summary

Culture is the conscious and unconscious content that a group learns, shares, and transmits from generation to generation that organizes life and helps interpret existence.

Contemporary theories of helping and counseling are themselves culture-bound, embodying the values and style of Northern European culture.

The inclusion of traditional healers and healing practices as part of a broad range of helping services offered to a community

Cultural Diversity: A Primer for the Human Services

By Jerry V. Diller

Chapter 6

Working with Culturally Diverse Parents and Families

Learning Objectives

6- 1 Recognize and define the meaning of community psychology.

6- 2 Identify and evaluate parenting styles within culturally diverse families.

6- 3 Prepare children emotionally and cognitively for racism.

6- 4 Support bicultural children and families.

6- 5 Build and assess the therapeutic relationship with bicultural families.

Open Letter to Barack Obama

Alice Walker characterizes the traits of Barack Obama and the values within the Black community that created the path to his victory:

Self-empowerment and pride

Resiliency and self-care

Retaining a sense of spirit and hope

An awareness of the various societal practices and institutions that have created obstacles for communities of color

Community Psychology (1 of 2)

An approach focused on making interventions at all systemic levels, including individual, social networks, support systems, communities, and within society as a whole

Community Psychology (2 of 2)

It also involves:

A focus on correcting issues of social injustice

Promoting well-being

A cessation of oppression for disadvantaged people

Prevention and mental health promotion, as opposed to merely treating symptoms

Acknowledging and addressing power differentials in society

Community development and empowerment

Social commitment and accountability as professionals

Case Study 1 (1 of 2)

Just Therapy by Charles Waldegrave

Therapy can be a vehicle for addressing some of the injustices that occur in a society.

It could be argued that in choosing not to address these issues in therapy, therapists may be inadvertently replicating, maintaining, and even furthering, existing injustices.

Case Study 1 (2 of 2)

Introduction: The New Zealand and Agency Context

In all our therapeutic work we have endeavored to relate to, and incorporate, the current issues that make up the New Zealand social and economic context.

Case Study 1: Just Therapy

Spirituality, Justice, and Simplicity

Therapy as a sacred process

Justice as recognizing the structures that create oppression and highlighting equity

Simplicity should be reflected in therapeutic exchanges.

What Is “Just Therapy?”

A modality that accounts for the gender, cultural, social and economic context of the client; broad contextual approach

Two Scenarios (1 of 2)

Scenario 1:

A Cherokee mother and Hopi father have different approaches to the problems of their son, who is acting out.

The issue corresponded to different ideas between the two cultures on the role of a father in parenting.

The issue was eventually resolved through consultation with an elder.

Two Scenarios (2 of 2)

Scenario 2:

A Chinese American husband and Irish American wife disagreed over the role, intentions, and affects of the mother-in-law in their relationship.

When the cultural dimension was added to the personal dimension of the problem, the couple was able to see how the problem could be amended.

Parenting

All parents face a similar task—that of creating a safe environment in which their child can move without harm through the various developmental tasks and stages that are part of growing up.

Creating a Buffer Zone (1 of 2)

Parents of color must create a safe environment in which their children can grow up safely despite racism.

Creating a Buffer Zone (2 of 2)

Parents create an environment in which the child is protected from negative attitudes and stereotypes.

The family is the primary sculptor of self esteem; consistent loving and nurturing interaction lead to good sense of self.

Creates a time and place for optimal personal growth, which leads to higher social functioning, cognitive development, and emotional health and stability

Parenting for Self-Esteem (1 of 2)

Three crucial ways in which parents (especially African American) develop or negate self-worth:

Disciplinary style

Physical punishment may erode self-esteem, while gentler discipline fosters greater emotional health.

Parental closeness or distance

Parent physical and emotional involvement leads to development of positive self-worth; conversely, children may blame themselves for parental absence.

Parenting for Self-Esteem (2 of 2)

Parents’ attitude toward race and life in general:

Wright (1998) describes working with children who seem “unusually vulnerable to perceived an actual racism.”

Preparing Children Emotionally for Racism (1 of 3)

Children need to feel the support of family, peers, and teachers.

Children need to understand the history of individuals who have struggled against racism.

Preparing Children Emotionally for Racism (2 of 3)

Counterproductive strategies include:

Verbal regiments (e.g., “Black is Beautiful”) are used to reinforce a message of positive self-esteem, but can make children question their validity.

Overly permissive stances due to guilt, or to make up for harshness the child will encounter, do not allow children to test themselves and build self-esteem.

Preparing Children Emotionally for Racism (3 of 3)

Counterproductive strategies include:

Overly authoritative parenting intended toughen children for the harsh reality they face can lead to abuse or to the child becoming abusive

Encouraging children to avoid aggressive behavior or to remain passive in the face of racism, as if such a stance would soften racial hatred

Instead, children should learn to manage righteous anger.

Preparing Children Cognitively for Racism (1 of 2)

Lewin (1948) offers advice:

Never deny a child his/her ethnicity or diminish its importance.

By putting off the discussion of racism, parents remove themselves as a valuable resource and make experiences with racism more devastating.

Help children develop positive ethnic identities based on values of the group.

Racial hatred should be presented as a social problem and not an individual problem, as children tend to take responsibility for most things that happen to them.

Preparing Children Cognitively for Racism (2 of 2)

Teach children that group membership is based on physical/cultural features and shared history in order to heighten intragroup solidarity and prevent intragroup fighting.

Ensure children do not fear multiple group allegiances or feel they have to choose between alternative roles and group membership.

Model positive feeling about ethnicity and group membership.

Bicultural Children and Families

Three prevalent myths about bicultural children (Kerwin & Ponterotto, 1995)

Bicultural children turn out to be tragic and marginal individuals.

In fact, they usually develop healthy and stable identities.

Bicultural children must choose to identify with only one of their parents’ cultural groups.

In fact, healthy development includes an integration of both cultural backgrounds.

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