Dealing With Native American Clients in the Counseling Setting
PSYC8723 -Week Six Discussion Question #2: If an American Indian client has a habit of not showing up for sessions and attributes the absences to family issues that received priority, how would you deal with this? Do you brush the incidents aside and tell yourself it is due to the time orientation value of American Indians, or do you discuss the topic and bring the issue of cultural differences out in the open?
Dealing With Native American Clients
This is certainly a very interesting topic. I am part Native American myself, and now I can see why I have been accused of living too much in the “here and now.” As with the African Americans, D. W. Sue and D. Sue (2003) imply that family priorities are very important to Native Americans. Causing family discord or disharmony is not acceptable. As mentioned in the discussion question, time orientation is focused on the present rather than planning for the future. Deadlines and appointments may not take center stage if family matters are pressing. I am reminded of a story I once heard about Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi and his devotees were planning a demonstration march to protest British rule in India. Plans were elaborately made for weeks for this march. At the last minute Gandhi called off the march. Alarmed, his devotees asked Gandhi how he could do this? Extensive plans have been made. Everyone is ready. Gandhi replied, “Truth is relative. It changes from moment to moment. My allegiance is to truth, not to consistency” (Ram Dass, 1985) Gandhi was concerned that resistance to the march could lead to violence, so he called it off. He was living in the present moment.
I belong to a Student Assistance Team at the school where I am employed. There are about eight members of the team. To be successful, we need to learn how to work together, and sometimes this means we need to confront each other in a compassionate way. As a prelude to learning about each other and gaining an understanding of how we all function and learn, at the beginning of the year, we all took the Myers-Briggs Test of Learning Styles (Odyssey, 2003). This tests reveals information on how each of us processes information and how we learn. For example, an INFP personality would indicate that the person in Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, and Perceptive. Others on the team may be, as an example, ENFJ, which would indicate they are more extroverted and judgmental. This doesn’t indicate that one or the other is wrong or dysfunctional. It just indicates that the two process information differently. Using this test greatly enhances our ability to understand each member better.
In the same manner as our Student Assistance Team, I think that the proper way to handle this matter of lateness to scheduled appointments is by gaining a compassionate understanding of the client’s customs, priorities, and values, and a positive attitude. Since, the authors suggest that success with Native Americans in an academic setting appears to be most related to building a bond with faculty and staff (D. W. Sue & D. Sue, 2003, p. 318), I feel that the same type of approach would apply in a counseling session. I do not feel that direct confrontation would be a good approach, especially in lieu of the fact that, for one thing, a large number of Native Americans are considered to be at risk (D. W. Sue & D. Sue, 2003). Furthermore, indications in Chapter Eleven point to the fact that many Native Americans hold resentment for White customs, education, and influence in their lives. This is certainly understandable considering what our government has done to their culture over the past one hundred years. Building rapport with the client is crucial in addressing any matters that my tread on family customs or traditions. As therapists, we need to know what level of acculturation and assimilation our client has achieved before we attempt to assist him or her in making changes that we think would be appropriate for survival in the dominant culture.
As with the story of Gandhi, truth is relative. Our approach to suggesting change would be relative to their level of acceptance of us as therapists. This hinges on our success at taking the effort to understand them and their cultural values. It is only from this that true rapport could spring. Once this is established, mention of lateness to therapy sessions could be addressed. It should not be presented as any kind of reprimand, however., but rather, to assist the client to function better in the dominant society. This does not mean to accept its values, necessarily, but to learn to cope and function more effectively in it. A sense of humor would go a long way in enhancing both the client and therapist in understanding personal differences.
References
Odyssey, Inc. (2003). Coaching, Assessments, Consulting. [Web Document] Obtained on Internet in January, 2004 at: http://www.odysseycoaching.com
Ram Dass (1985) How Can I Help? [Tape Series] San Anselmo, CA: Ram Dass Tape Library
D. W. Sue & D. Sue (2003). Counseling the Culturally Diverse – Theory and Practice. 4th Ed. New York: Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Glenn Schuyler
Walden University Student
2004