PSYC 230: Chapter 13 -Culture and Psychological Interventions

what is psychotherapy?

• a method of healing that emphasizes the self

• involves talking about one’s emotions, thoughts, feelings, and relationships

what is cognitive behavioral therapy?

involves teaching cognitive skills: changing mindset to change behavior

escribe how any type of psychotherapy is culturally bounded or framed

• expressing psychological disorders and their causes is partly dependent on culture

• requires working w/ the self. the self has different meanings for cultures

• involves working w/ patients’ knowledge, understanding, and cultural context that their behaviors occur

• goal is to help patients’ become more functional in society; societies of different cultures are different leading to different outcomes

what have been some attempts at culturalization of traditional psychotherapy for diverse populations?

modified psychotherapy seems to be more successful than non-modified ones

• implementing religion

  ex: In Malaysia, including verses of the Koran that address “worry” has made it culturally relevant

• family vs. individual

  ex: In China, family therapy aligns w/ traditional cultural views of primacy of the family, family obligations, and family interdependence in relation to the self

what is mindfulness?

• Buddhist principle

• being in the moment, aware of senses, breathing, thoughts w/out judgement or assessment

• reduces tension, anxiety, and stress

describe some of the major reasons research has uncovered about why disparities in seeking and receiving psychological treatments exist

• language barriers:

  • In US, strong evidence that those with limited English proficiency are less likely to use mental health services

  • even tho given language assistance, many drop out

• stigma and mistrust:

  • For Asian Americans, feelings of shame and loss of face are associated w/ having a mental illness

  • In 1930s-1970s US experiment, African Americans in Alabama w/ syphilis were told that they were going to be treated but was never treated even tho there was a treatment available for it. (purpose was to document course of disease, gain more info abt it)

• beliefs about health and illness:

  • Native Americans believe that sickness comes from disharmony within one’s community, nature, and spiritual world hence seeking help from mental health services is not desirable

• social validity: to be socially accepted by a specific cultural group

• social structures and policies:

  • more mental health professionals and services found in urban areas than rural areas in US

  • ethnic minorities are more likely to be uninsured compared to European Americans

what are some ways that research has documented to reduce or remove barriers to treatment?

• hiring bilingual and bicultural staff

• increasing outreach (activities in community to promote awareness and give referals)

• having flexible hours

• increasing number of practitioners in community to facilitate seeking treatment

• programs that promote and required interpersonal contact w/ people w/ mental illness than education or vice versa (depending on preference

describe the major cultural issues that can impact psychological interventions, especially considering traditional psychotherapy

• different views on how patient and therapist see problem culturally

• not implementing cultural roles in sessions

  ex: father is the head of the fam

• different expectations abt different parts/aspects of treatment

  ex: Asian Americans prefer active, direct, structured, immediate, and pragmatic approaches to therapy instead of inactive/indirect approaches that emphasize self-disclosure, insight, and “talk” therapy

• loss of face

• not recognizing and involving members of the extended family (serve an important role of support in times of distress)

what is face?

refers to social character, integrity, or reputation

what has research shown about the efficacy of ethnic or racial matching between clinicians and clients?

• matching patient and therapist based on culture:

  • low rates of dropping out, # treatment sessions, and assessment of client functioning at the end of treatment

describe some key ways in which interventions can be made more culturally informed

• counselors are culturally competent to patient:

  • aware of cultural beliefs and values

  • have knowledge of culture

  • ability to intervene/help that is sensitive and relevant to culture

• counselor understands and focuses on patient’s interactions w/ community instead of the patient themselves:

  • identifying strategies for both the patient and community to interact to solve problem/mental health imbalance

describe differences between traditional psychotherapy and indigenous healing practices

indigenous healing practices depend/focus on the culture, while traditional psychotherapy doesnt

describe examples of how traditional and nontraditional healing systems can be blended in order to improve efficacy for individuals of nonmainstream cultural backgrounds

• Gone w/ Native Americans:

  • working closely w/ NA’s to understand their healing beliefs and practices

  • talking in a psychologizing level to spiritualizing level

what is indigenous healing?

beliefs and practices originating within a culture/society for treating members of that group

what is traditional medicine?

treatments that have a long history within a culture and are indigenous to it

what is complementary medicine/alternative medicine?

treatments offered in a culture that dont originate in it