Treatment providers need to understand the role ofcultural values such as interpersonal harmony, loss offace, and filial piety on their Asian American/PacificIslander client’s beliefs about psychological distress andthe implications for mental health services. Myths and Misinformation
Full Answer
Does this section about the Asian culture provide comprehensive coverage?
Note: This section about the Asian culture is abbreviated and does not provide comprehensive coverage about all Asian cultures. Value Orientations (Seidel, Ball, Dains, & Benedict, 1995, pp. 39, 47)
What is culturally appropriate mental health treatment for Asian-Americans/Pacific Islanders?
Culturally appropriate mental health treatment for Asian-Americans/Pacific Islanders should be cost-effective, accessible (located within Asian-American/Pacific Islander communities), and provided at convenient times (e.g., after work and weekends).
Should cultures receive special treatment from therapists?
Some cultures receive extra-favorable treatment from therapists who want to somehow express their solidarity and support for a specific culture’s cause. However, ‘special treatment’ is never in the best interest of the individual and can even be counterproductive in terms of their personal growth.
What are the health care beliefs of Asian cultures?
Vietnamese: Health is maintained through a balance of "yin" and "yang" and by leading a harmonious life. Rituals are used to ward off illness. There are several web sites which detail health care beliefs of the Asian culture.
What cultural considerations are important for Asian American?
Individuals from China, Japan, Korea, and the Philippines are included in this group.Values and Communication.Harmony and conflict avoidance are highly valued, as is respect. ... They may avoid direct eye contact as a way of showing respect. ... Filial piety (respect for and duty to one's parents) is an important value.More items...•
What cultural considerations should you incorporate into your nursing care for an Asian client?
Implications for Culturally Competent Care Treatment providers need to understand the role of cultural values such as interpersonal harmony, loss of face, and filial piety on their Asian-American/Pacific Islander client's beliefs about psychological distress and the implications for mental health services.
What are Asian healthcare beliefs?
Chinese: Health is maintained through a balance between "yin" (cold) and "yang" (hot) forces. A lack of "chi" (energy) causes illness. The body is viewed as a gift and must be valued through proper care. Japanese: Health is maintained through harmony with the world.
What are some things counselors should consider during assessment and problem definition when working with Asian American clients?
When counseling Asian Americans, What are some things counselors should consider during assessment and problem definition? Consider the family and community context. Define the problem as related to family enmeshment. Begin to develop client autonomy.
What are some cultural considerations in nursing?
Examples of Cultural Competence in NursingSpeaking in terms that are easy for the patient to follow and understand.Not judging or disregarding a patient's belief and religious background, but encouraging them to do what works best for them.Empathizing with the patient at all times.More items...•
Why there is a need to consider the cultural differences and preferences of patient during physical examination?
Culture influences patients' responses to illness and treatment. In our multicultural society, different customs can lead to confusion and misunderstanding, which erode trust and patient adherence.
What are the prevalent health care beliefs and needs of Chinese culture?
Traditional Chinese people believe that most illnesses are caused by an imbalance of qi (vital force or energy) and yin and yang in the body. Mental illness is thought to be due to a lack of harmony of emotions or caused by evil spirits.
How do Asians view psychology?
The results showed that participants reported several common sources of stress that affected their overall mental health: Parental pressure to succeed in academics. Discussing mental health concerns is considered taboo in many Asian cultures and as a result Asian Americans tend to dismiss, deny or neglect their ...
What are three factors or specific aspects of diversity that counselors should consider when working with clients from a different culture?
Defining Diversity But cultural diversity includes many groups of clients and many important factors that affect treatment—a client's gender, age, sexual preference, spiritual beliefs, socioeconomic status, physical and mental capacities, and geographic location.
What are some things counselors should consider during assessment and problem definition?
Because of a possible collectivistic orientation, it is important for counselors to consider the family and community context during assessment and problem definition. A therapist should also be open to different family orientations and to avoid automatically considering interdependence as a sign of enmeshment.
What are some ethical and culturally relevant strategies you could use to establish and maintain the therapeutic relationship?
Some strategies that may help include:Help the client feel more welcome. ... Know that relationships take time. ... Never judge the client. ... Manage your own emotions. ... Talk about what the client wants from therapy. ... Ask more or different questions. ... Don't make the client feel rejected. ... Refer to another therapist.More items...•
What is somatization in psychiatry?
Research suggests that health care providers’ failure to look at non-physical causes of ailments in Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, combined with other cultural and linguistic barriers , may mean that this population is receiving inadequate mental health care.
What does "API" mean in medical terms?
When Asian and Pacific Islander (API) patients visit medical facilities complaining of physical problems , they usually receive physical treatments . However, Shih-Yu (Sylvia) Lee, PhD, RNC, a postdoctoral fellow at Emory University in Atlanta, knows that asking these patients a few extra questions may mean the difference between curing a minor physical ailment and treating a major mental illness.
Do Asian Americans get mental health care?
These disturbing statistics suggest that Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders may not be receiving adequate mental health care early on and that by the time they do obtain treatment, their problems are more severe and harder to treat.
Why is cultural diversity important in addiction treatment?
While honoring the cultural diversity of your client is important, you must remember that your primary purpose in addiction treatment is to help the client get clean and stay sober. Any issue the client raises may be important.
What does a ten mean in a therapist's job?
Take a moment to rate your own clinical skills as a therapist. A ten means you believe you provide top-quality counseling in a compassionate and professional manner. A one indicates you need another job. I’ll bet you feel pretty good overall about the work you do and why shouldn’t you?
What is the best advice for cultural groups?
Beware of generalizations and stereotyping. The best advice is to use good therapeutic skills.
What does it mean when someone avoids contact with other members of his culture?
Often sees other members of his race and culture as ‘the enemy’ and/or a source of shame and embarrassment. Has difficulty trusting other members of his own culture and usually feels ‘better than’ or ‘less than’.
What to expect from a culturally sensitive therapist?
A culturally sensitive therapist follows guidelines for working with diverse groups of people and understands that racial, cultural, religious, gender, and sexual identities interact with one’s beliefs and behavior. The expectation and ultimate goals for both the therapist and the client are notable progress ...
Why is cultural sensitivity important in therapy?
Therapists can incorporate cultural sensitivity into their work to accommodate and respect differences in opinions, values, and attitudes of various cultures and different types of people. Cultural sensitivity also allows a therapist to gain and maintain cultural competence, which is the ability to first recognize and understand one’s own culture ...
Introduction
- According to the 2000 U.S. Census, "single race" Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders comprised 4.2 percent of the U.S. population. Of the individuals who reported being multiracial, almost 13 percent reported being partially of Asian heritage. Asian-Americans/Pacific Islanders i…
Myths and Misinformation
- The promulgation of the "model minority" myth, that Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders are the most similar to European Americans, and, thus, are viewed as "models" for and/or "better than" other ethnic minority groups, has created many problems for Asian-Americans/Pacific Islanders. The result has been (a) a lack of attention to Asian-American/Pacific Islander issues in mental h…
Inadequacies of Traditional Mental Health Care
- The number of Asian-American/Pacific Islander mental health providers is very low, as are mental health services accessible to various Asian-American/Pacific Islander communities. The paucity of bilingual and culturally competent therapists compounds the problem of inadequate mental health care. Even the U.S. Surgeon General documented inadequate mental health treatment for …
Oppression and Racism as Mental Health Issues
- Historically, racism and sexism toward Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States has been prevalent. Whether mandated by the U.S. government (e.g., Gentleman's Agreement of 1860, antimiscegenation laws, unconstitutional internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II) or acted upon by individuals via hate crimes, Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders conti…
References
- American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders(4th Ed., text revision).Washington, D.C.: Author.
- U.S. Census Bureau. (2001). The Asian and Pacific Islander population in the United States(PDF, 177.5KB): March 2000 (Update) (PPL-146). Retrieved June 28, 2001.
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2001). Mental health: Culture, race, and eth…
- American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders(4th Ed., text revision).Washington, D.C.: Author.
- U.S. Census Bureau. (2001). The Asian and Pacific Islander population in the United States(PDF, 177.5KB): March 2000 (Update) (PPL-146). Retrieved June 28, 2001.
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2001). Mental health: Culture, race, and ethnicity—A supplement to Mental health: A report of the SurgeonGeneral. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of He...
Recommended Readings For Practitioners
- Lee, E. (1997). Working with Asian Americans: A guide for clinicians. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
- Lee, L. C., and Zane, N.W. S. (1998). Handbook of Asian American psychology.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
- Okazaki, S. (2000).Assessing and treating Asian Americans: Recent advances. In I. Cuellar & …
- Lee, E. (1997). Working with Asian Americans: A guide for clinicians. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
- Lee, L. C., and Zane, N.W. S. (1998). Handbook of Asian American psychology.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
- Okazaki, S. (2000).Assessing and treating Asian Americans: Recent advances. In I. Cuellar & F.A. Paniagua (Eds.), Handbook of multicultural mental health(pp. 171-193). San Diego, CA:Academic Press.
- Uba, L. (1994). Asian Americans: Personality patterns, identity, and mental health. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Behavior, Culture and Language
- While mental illness is not an easy topic for most Americans to discuss, there is an especially strong stigma in the Asian American culture that discourages potential patients from seeking mental health services. “We tend to suppress our feelings,” says Lee, who is from Taiwan. “What happens in the family stays in the family.” This is where the somatization comes in. Instead of s…
Communication For Compliance
- Once it has been determined that an Asian American or Pacific Islander patient is in need of mental health care, the next challenge for the nurse to overcome is often recommending treatment in a way that encourages the patient to complete his or her therapy successfully. Typically, a care provider would gather data on the symptoms of the problem, d...
Patient Advocacy
- If an API patient needs to be referred to an outpatient or inpatient psychiatric care facility, it is once again important for the nurse to be a strong encourager. “[Patients] need assurance that this is the right thing to do,” says Maggie Luo, program coordinator for the Chinese American Mental Health Outreach Project (CAMHOP) in New Jersey. This may mean encouraging family member…