Study Study: Cultural Humility And Trauma Treatment

[The Albatross]

How someone rates their mental health professional is "perceptive/perceptual" and yet, the perceptions often... of people with disorders who seek counseling are off, in one way or another. How are you measuring this? Just curious. (i.e. if my own best perceptions would have gotten me well then I would not have gone through the expense and extra ordinary measures that I did... they could have been any ethnicity/culture as long as they were therapeutically sound for instance).

Are you continuing your studies to be more than a counselor? I hope so.

 

[Eagle3]

Actually, cultural sensitivity was one of the main reasons I chose the therapist I did...I couldn't stand yet another Christian therapist that I would end up educating about their own religion, and basically knowing EXACTLY what they would tell me. I'm also sensitive about religion because its one of my triggers, having grown up in a Christian cult. I've since become more Jewish in my own outlook (I'm also ethnically Jewish), and my current T is Buddhist...I really appreciate his unique perspective on things, and his views and Eastern practices have helped me to heal better than anyone else I've worked with. We're totally different ends of the political spectrum, but we just avoid those topics since they don't REALLY need to be discussed in light of all my other issues.

Now that I think about it, our similar approaches to Martial Arts philosophies is what sealed the deal for me. The rest was just an added bonus I didn't realize until well after I'd become more stable.

 

[Powder]

I liked what was disclosed as the main example, having dreams that explore the trauma, and not seeing that as a universally negative symptom.

I would argue that having flashbacks, if that is how the trauma is being remembered, is not simply a negative symptom either. They are absolutely painful, but so is childbirth.

It is necessary to stop seeing all pain as negative and to embrace an empowerment model, especially for those who have been overpowered and victimized. Being saved is appreciated in the heat of the moment, but after the fact, the survivor needs to get busy saving herself.

I cannot participate because I am not in treatment.

 

[shimmerz]

I have a spiritual belief which played in greatly with one of my therapists. My Shaman. And the more I worked with her, the more I realized (for myself) that there was a spiritual component involved in healing.

My T-doc, when I mentioned the Shaman was brusque in stating that he was offended that I would be using such a therapist and how much damage she would be doing to the therapy he was offering at the time.

I stopped and said to him 'Huh, isn't that funny. She said the same thing about you.'

Yes, I believe that humility (cultural or otherwise) for the healing process and honouring the path that the sufferer chooses is very important. Sometimes a degree or two can fool one's ego into believing that they are the centre of the universe for their patients, which is simply not true.

 

[henamedmeowl]

Hello everyone,

My name is Allison Pow and, I must state right off the bat, that my role here is prim...

Is it possible to have the definition of how you operationalize the term "cultural humility " in your study? I feel like culture can mean anything and I guess I would like to know how how you as a researcher interpret it for your paper. I agree with the premise about that...but I feel the way you define that is incredibly important. It's like when people see a group of people representing one type of ethnicity and say oh that's diversity, or don't think of religion, class, nationality, sexual orientation, when thinking of culture.

 

[Gs172003]

This is actually relevant to me. I am a Christian. My therapist is an atheist. I made this clear before I even started and she bases her therapy on the person she's dealing with. She also knows I don't want pills. We decided we will use a holistic approach.

 

[allpow15]

Not interested because I am racially colorblind. when I first started therapy I was desperate for a thera...

Just to clarify. The concept of cultural humility has to do with much more than race. It's related to how a practitioner is able or not able to attune to the individual worldview of their client or patient rather than, more or less, deciding for the client how they should think about their trauma.

 

[mudbug]

I do see the benefits of this study. I specifically searched for a therapist who would not base their treatment on their religion, would be sensitive to my sexuality and considered themself an ally, and considered themself a feminist. I would not have been able to continue with a therapist who did not have this level of cultural awareness and straight up would not have felt safe, thus making treatment impossible. Unfortunately people who are not in minority groups likely won't see the importance of needing a "culturally humble" therapist. They don't need to worry that their therapist wont be able to empathize with them enough to treat them effectively, society has already conditioned everyone to empathize with them.

However, I couldn't get through the survey because the wording for a few of the questions towards the last 20-10% were pretty confusing. Unfortunately I closed it out or else I would specify which ones.

 

[Gs172003]

This is actually relevant to me. I am a Christian. My therapist is an atheist. I made this clear before...

I need to restate. She isn't treating me as a Christian. She's specifically not doing treatment that goes against any of my beliefs. There was one she did that I was very against ( I don't remember what it was called) and she told me she only does what her clients are comfortable with.

 

[allpow15]

Is it possible to have the definition of how you operationalize the term "cultural humility " in y...

Sure. I did offer a definition earlier today. Copied and pasted here: "Cultural humility is a client or patient's perception of their treatment provider as inclusive, understanding, and welcoming toward their cultural background and beliefs, especially as those beliefs relate to treatment. According to Hook et al. (2013), who introduced the construct of cultural humility, culturally humble clinicians are a) aware of their own limitations in regards to culture and genuinely seek to understand clients’ worldviews and b) accepting of cultural differences and conduct counseling in which clients’ goals and worldviews take precedence."

 

[allpow15]

I do see the benefits of this study. I specifically searched for a therapist who would not base their t...

Thank you for your time and feedback!

 

[henamedmeowl]

Sure. I did offer a definition earlier today. Copied and pasted here: "Cultural humility is a client o...

Thanks I went ahead and did the study and I appreciate how detailed and open you were with the term cultural humility within the study it was very inclusive. For future study I would probability add ability as well and language as well.