Reflection Essay: Course – Counseling and Cross-Cultural Communication
In Ms. Ackerman’s article, “Child Therapy: 19 Counseling Techniques & Worksheets for Kids,” she proposes that child therapy needn’t be limited to trauma treatment, rather it can utilize positive psychology to foster well being, develop healthy coping mechanisms, and boost self-confidence and self-esteem. Despite my own cultural aversion to child therapy, I found that by using a practice-based approach, rather than a theory-based approach, in explaining the benefits of child therapy, the author changed my perception about seeking counseling for children, including my own. While the article did not address specific cultural presumptions about child therapy, Dr Tahir provided some insight about cross-cultural communication in counseling that made me reconsider some of my preconceived notions about the counselor’s perception of families who seek therapy for their children. As a result, I now believe that child therapy could be beneficial for nearly every child, but especially African American youth, as more of a support for healthy development rather than a just treatment for trauma.
As an African American, in my culture, placing one’s child in therapy is viewed as both an embarrassing admission of guilt, as well as a tremendous risk of exposure for practices that the larger American population does not approve of (i.e. corporal punishment, greater independence from supervision, casual substance use, etc). As such, child therapy becomes a threat to custody, criminal charges, and humiliation for many Black families. Further, to prevent scrutiny, we hold a strong belief that what “happens at home, stays at home,” thus telling outsiders what occurs inside the home is not an acceptable practice. We find, then, that the general social taboo against child therapy is further exacerbated by the African American’s cultural aversion to the practice.
However, Ackerman’s article makes a strong argument for using child therapy as more of a support for healthy development rather than a just treatment for trauma. She explores evidence-based techniques by explaining through practice (like games, mindfulness, or worksheets) how child therapists operate and in what ways therapy can be beneficial to the average child, for example by building up self-esteem, managing bullies, or assisting with emotion regulation… all everyday issues that most children struggle with. This made the concept of therapy much easier to digest. And helped me, personally, become more open to the idea of therapy for children. However, the previously mentioned cultural biases to child therapy present in African American communities isn’t addressed in this article, rather Dr Tahir touched upon this in class.
When discussing Structural Family Therapy, Dr Tahir presented a case that sparked a discussion about major cultural differences in child rearing and how counselors must be sensitive to these unique differences. One practice specifically mentioned was the use of corporal punishment in African American and Desi communities. Dr Tahir explained that counselors must be considerate of these differences and not have the same level of concern when certain practices, like corporal punishment, are social norms in some communities (barring any use of extreme violence or neglect). I was particularly surprised to hear this from a practicing professional therapist.
Due to my own cultural prejudices, I had always assumed that all counselors have a standard of reporting policies that are rigid and biased against African American communities. Learning that cross-cultural sensitivity is actually a concern for many therapists, and noting that so many counseling professionals are actively seeking to develop this competence, began to shift my perception about the inherent dangers of allowing my own children to receive counseling, and in fact, enabled me to be more open to the arguments in Ackerman’s article that counseling can be used in a more proactive, positive manner. Simply-stated, the benefits began to outweigh the harms.
If one finds a culturally competent counselor and seeks child therapy as a means of supporting healthy emotional and social development, then many families, especially African American, could seriously benefit from this service. Though African American communities have a very negative perception and experience with counseling, not all counselors are alike, so it’s important that we be more proactive in finding the right culturally-competent therapists for our community so that our own children are not further disadvantaged by the lack of access to this beneficial tool. Ackerman’s focus on positive psychology and utilizing child therapy to foster well being (rather than just treat trauma) opens up a whole new concept of therapy for many families and is worth investigating further to ensure we are all taking full advantage of this beneficial asset to our society.