Expression

My last semester confirmed my concerns from two posts ago; my cultural diversity was quite a disappointment. The book was, in my opinion and those of some of my classmates, inflamatory and more upsetting than helpful. When I mentioned this to my professor, he allowed me to borrow another book from him, which I read throughout the semester to supplement the required readings for our class. I skipped around and happened to end with Asian Americans. Toward the end of the last chapter I read, I came across this:

Although these findings provide some insights into what might comprise effective counseling strategies when mental health professionals treat Asian American clients, none of the studies, except for Merta et al. (1992), employed actual clients who were engaged in a realistic counseling situation... As a result, it can be questioned whether the findings have external validity to actual counseling sessions.

So, as of 2004, the author of this chapter knew of only one study of Asian American clients in realistic counseling situations. Great conclusion to my introduction to multicultural counseling. My cultural diversity class and the additional reading I did this semester have left me wondering why I'm in a field that makes me feel entirely invalidated. How can I do something that makes me so mad, that makes me feel so insignificant? How do I keep caring about something that doesn't seem to care about people like me? I am still fairly convinced that this is what I'm supposed to be doing and where I'm supposed to be for the time being, but I'm not sure what my place in the field will be or what the future will look like for me.

:: redeemed4hisglory @ 8:06 PM :: (0) comments

Racial/Cultural/Ethnic identity

"What would it be like to have not only color vision but culture vision, the ability to see the multiple worlds of others?" ~Mary C. Bateson

People often make judgments based on impressions that are only skin deep, as if a person's color defines who they are. However, how, where, and by whom a person is raised determines more of who a person will become than skin color itself. Of course, because of societal factors, skin color does have some bearing on person's opportunities. I just really like that quotation because it highlights the tendency for people to overlook people's heritage, upbringing, and worldview and make assumptions based on superficial characteristics.

The transmission of a minority culture from one culture to the next is an interesting thing. I realized this from observing my three-year-old cousin. Her parents are both ethnically Chinese; however, her parents speak different dialects of Chinese. Although my aunt would probably prefer to speak to my cousin in Chinese, my cousin, who can count in English, says that counting in Chinese is difficult. I don't remember having a very hard time counting in Chinese (not more than learning to count in English), but my parents' families speak the same dialect. As I was watching my cousin, I was struck by how difficult preserving a minority culture can be; however, because people make judgments based on physical features such as skin color, figuring out one's ethnic identity can be very challenging.

:: redeemed4hisglory @ 6:33 PM :: (1) comments