Question

As culturally aware mental health counselors what components of the East/Southeastern Asian American culture: Japanese, Thai, Filipino, and Korean. (Not to be confused with South Asian Cultures that includes Indian, Nepal, and Pakistan etc.) Must we be mindful of in order to provide the best possible therapeutic outcome? What social injustice does this (East/Southeastern Culture) face and what can be done to help advocate for change to provide social justice?

Answer 1

Answer.

Cultural factors, such as language, age, gender, and others, can influencethe mental health of SoutAsians, particularly immigrants. Generally speaking, East and south east Asian individuals belong to traditional communities and they place great value on the family as a unit. As a mental health counselor, it therefore becomes crucial to be sensitive to the cultural differences in the values placed by one’s Outh East Asian clients on commitment and dependence on the family and a strong identification with the religious community. In a South East Asian cultures, the members are expected to follow the group norms and show reverence and obedience towards the collective goals over and above individual’s own desires. Thus, it may be the case that an Orinetal client may feel a greater level of work related stress inspire of showing a high level of competency because he or she may find the American social ideal of competitiveness too challenging and s/ he may experience shame, or anxiety for being compelled to think about his/her personal needs over those of his colleagues.

Furthermore, the counselor needs to be sensitve to the cultural context of seeking counselling or therapy as the client may be undergoing apprehensions about continuing due to Social stigma and shame associated with behavioral health care in Oriental cultures. This is because while psychological interventions as a treatment programme are natural and more acceptable in industrialised Western societies, East Asian and South East Asian cultures have cultural stigmas associated with the category of mental illness and behavioral and emotional problems. However, by becoming aware of any possible social consequences of psychological help, counselors can become more effective in leading their clients from Asian cultures towards positive growth.