The Impact Of History And Counseling Theories On Culturally Diverse Populations

Counseling came from many professions, including anthropology, education, ethics, history, law, medical sciences, philosophy, psychology, and sociology (Gladding, S. 2012). We can trace the beginnings of counseling all the way back to 1550 BC. Sometime in the winter between 1873 and 1874, Georg Moritz Ebers, an Egyptologist and novelist, from Berlin Germany found an Egyptian medical papyrus. According to Mark, J. 2017 this papyrus covers and array of subjects including dementia and depression. An English doctor by the name of Thomas Willis became the founder of neurology in the seventeenth century (1664). In 1808, Johann Christian Reil coined the term psychiatry. Paul Broca was a French physician and anthropologist. He discovered the area of the brain responsible for our ability to produce spoken language in 1861 advancing our understanding of brain structure and language (Finger, S. 2004). I mention these men in history to point out a couple things. The first thing is that they are all Caucasian males. This is important because their experience and upbringing were unique and privileged in their own right. The second is that they come from different facets in life, that is important to know because each one had a different perspective that was shaped by their individual experiences in life. The final reason I mentioned them, is because without them, counseling would not be what it is today.

One of the histories and theories of counseling that have benefited cultural groups was Carl Roger’s person-centered theory. Rogers in 1942 presented a theory that focused on the client being responsible for their own growth. He described the counselor or professional helper as a nonjudgmental, accepting, mirror for the client to self-reflect. This approach if done correctly will help patients receive wrap around services and care that are based on their needs. The client will feel comfortable and confident creating and strengthening dignity, independence and respect for both the client and in the client/provider relationship. With this approach, clients are more likely to stick to their treatment plan and feel empowered, ensuring that they maintain a higher quality of life over a longer period of time and that benefits all populations.

One of the histories and theories of counseling that oppressed cultural groups was that the founding fathers were all Caucasian males. Although they came from different backgrounds, they were not diverse enough to get ahead of the epidemic that we are trying to repair with multicultural training. In order to be effective in our position in any part of the helping profession, we need to understand how we feel as individuals, about diversity, multiculturalism, oppression, race, gender, and sexual orientation and then decide how we will process these feelings. Cultural Competence is not an easy journey, and how we chose to deal with what we find can either “enhance or imped a deeper understanding of ourselves”. The reason this is an important fact to know is because unless we understand ourselves and where we stand on these issues and more, we risk causing harm to the people we serve which defeats the purpose of them coming to us for help in the first place.

The Papyrus, dating back to 1550 BC is where we can find the first mental disorder just for women, hysteria. Hysteria, meaning over emotional or deranged, was actually the medical explanation for things men did not understand about women and it was thought to be caused by the uterus. This was a diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders until 1980 when it was officially removed. Not surprisingly, the symptoms that deemed females hysterical were not really seen as a problem when males presented with them. In my opinion, that is because the field was male dominated at that time. “Gendered stereotypes, like the ideas that women should be submissive, even-tempered, and sexually inhibited, have caused tremendous damage throughout history (and continue to do so today)”. Women still battle against oppression today with sexism, domestic abuse, sex assault, poverty due to the wage gap, not being adequately represented in congress, and now the debate over a women’s right to do what she wants with her body.

The person-centered approach ensures that if a counselor had a female client dealing with one or more of these issues, they would be able to work with the client to create an effective treatment plan, even if the therapist was a man. Explain one aspect of the history (such as an event or shared group experience) and its current impact on the worldview, attitudes, beliefs, values and behaviors of group members. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 was meant to eliminate sex-based wage discrimination in America, unfortunately, that was not the result. Some people may say that women have come a long way in this area, and they would be partially correct. However, according to Rampell, (2013), women are the primary wage earner in six out of ten American households. Yet millions of single women and their children are homeless or living in poverty. Finally, to answer this question: Why is an understanding of these aspects of history important for cultural competence? It is important to understand these aspects of history as they pertain to cultural competence because research shows that the more diverse a group is, the more likely it is to solve problems and arrive at better solutions.

References

1. Sue, D. W., & Sue, D. (2016). Counseling the culturally diverse: Theory and practice (7th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
2. Feindel W. (1962). Thomas Willis (1621-1675)-The Founder of Neurology. Canadian Medical Association journal, 87(6), 289–296.
3. Gladding, Samuel. T. (2013) Counseling: A Comprehensive Profession 7th Edition. Pearson
4. Mark, J. (2016, November 08). Egyptian Papyrus. Retrieved from https://www.ancient.eu/Egyptian_Papyrus/
5. Broca, P., (2004). Pioneers in Neurology. Journal of Neurology, Volume 251, (6), pp. 769-770.
6. Tasca, C., Rapetti, M., Carta, M. G., & Fadda, B. (2012). Women and hysteria in the history of mental health. Clinical practice and epidemiology in mental health: CP & EMH, 8, 110–119. doi:10.2174/1745017901208010110
7. Rampell, C. (2013, May 29th). U.S. Women on the rise as family bread winner. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/.../women-as-family-breadwinner-on-the-rise-study-says.html
8. Rock, D., Grant, H. (2016, November 4th). Why Diverse Teams Are Smarter. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2016/11/why-diverse-teams-are-smarter