Christian Worldviews in Counseling
Answer the following questions:
1. How do racial, social, political, and religious attitudes affect the counselor’s perception and treatment of clients? How could the Christian worldview/chosen religious beliefs help with providing treatment to diverse populations?
Although clinicians tend to rely more on their experiences and education when dealing with clients, biases based on racial, social, political, and religious attitudes influence the counselor’s decision making. Such factors affect how people perceive different illnesses and this is extended even when seeking for clinical attention (Breland-Noble & Miranda, 2017). In other words, some counselors may have to change their way of treatment when handling some patients depending on the ideas they give concerning their beliefs as associated with certain illnesses (Breland-Noble & Miranda, 2017). It is, therefore, considered that the clinicians seek the patients’ opinions while administering treatment because faith is strong and can affect one’s healing process if not put into consideration. Christians base most of their beliefs and values from the Holy Bible. The Christian values are open to most of the practitioner’s opinions and hence do not collide easily (Breland-Noble & Miranda, 2017). In this regard, Christians can help the diverse populations by teaching them the importance of being flexible in the values they hold especially when a case of disease is involved.
2. Explain how mental health and addiction therapy are viewed in various cultures. Give at least two examples.
Mental health and addiction therapy have widely been stigmatized in various cultures. Mental illnesses such as depression are believed to be caused by stress and loss by many African-Americans. On the other hand, Asian-Americans believe that the disease is caused by family issues and cultural differences (Jimenez et al., 2012). In many African countries, mental illnesses are perceived to be caused by witchcrafts and hence cannot be clinically treated. In this regard, most of them use traditional ways to address health disorder. Others also believe that the patient might have been cursed by the ancestors and therefore, the disease cannot be cured unless some traditions are carried out to reconcile with them (Jimenez et al., 2012). For example, a person with a mental disorder would need their family elders to come together and offer some sacrifice to the ancestors by pouring the blood of the animal to be sacrificed (Jimenez et al., 2012). During the occasion, the elders beseech their ancestors to heal the victim and are required to adhere to certain regulations.
References
- Breland-Noble, A. M., & Miranda, J. (2017). Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Depressive Illness and Clinical Care. Public Health Perspectives on Depressive Disorders, 313.
- Jimenez, D. E., Bartels, S. J., Cardenas, V., Dhaliwal, S. S., & Alegría, M. (2012). Cultural beliefs and mental health treatment preferences of ethnically diverse older adult consumers in primary care. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 20(6), 533-542.