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Cultural Variables
in the Therapeutic Setting
As a professional in the healing arts, both as a
Registered Nurse as well as an advanced practice bio-energy healer and
counselor, I get very excited about human nature, psychology and what
makes us tick. When I contemplate the things which unite humans in a
common bond, I’m always equally curious about the complexities of
what makes us different.
As human beings we share some very
fundamental traits whether we are born in Japan, the Congo or in Canada.
These similarities are the bedrock of what frames us in our current
state of consciousness in 2012. They are the basic ingredients of what
shapes us on a psycho-social level.
But despite the fact that
our psycho-social development begins with a standard blueprint,
humankind eventually diverges into a menagerie of intricate and
intriguing variations.
There are numerous causes for our
disparity but one single element appears to have a monumental influence;
culture.
The culture in which we are raised plays a staggering
role in shaping who we are and what is “normal” and
“odd”.
In order to provide the most therapeutic
and informed counseling and bio-energy therapy, it is vital that we
understand how we are similar and yet, how we are different from one
another.
In his book, “The Social Animal: The Hidden
sources of Love, Character and Achievement”, David Brooks
identifies amazing information about how culture and other factors
dictate who we are and what we use to measure our character and
success.
All cultures share some basic similarities which are
stored in our genetics.
Anthropologists have studied these factors
and can safely tell us the following:
*All cultures differentiate
colors-White and black. However these are the only two colors that are
uniform across all cultures. If a third color is named, it’s
always red.
After these, however, cultures move into individual
color palates. In some cultures there is no such color as blue, for
example. In fact, the color blue is not even recognized by the human
eye.
• Humans uniformly display
the same basic facial expressions for the emotions of fear, disgust,
happiness, contempt, anger, sadness, pride and shame. Babies who are
born blind will display the exact same facial expressions as those who
are born with eyesight.
• All people
divide time into past, present and future.
•
All cultures identify with fear. Spiders and snakes are uniformly feared
across the board, at least initially, because they were a threat
to life for our distant ancestors.
• All
cultures embrace art
• Every culture
fundamentally disapproves of rape and
murder.
• Every single culture dreams of
harmony and worships a Divine source.
Donald E Brown, in his
book, “ Human Universals” lists a multitude of things that
all humans share and the list is endless.
A few more of the
noteworthy items are that all children fear strangers and are more
attracted to sugar solutions than plain water from birth. Stories, myths
and proverbs are common in all cultures. Across the board men display
more group violence and tend to travel further from home then do women.
Women provide more child care then do men. Holding false beliefs is
present in every culture. False beliefs in that the psyche makes up
beliefs and images about life based on their personal
experience.
People everywhere have opinions about others according
to prestige; whether that be a positive opinion or a negative
opinion. Or just something a person notes. 100% of the world
categorizes people into those inside their group and those outside their
group. Even if we feel we are non-prejudice, we still separate ourselves
even if it’s “the prejudice ones” and the
“non-prejudice ones”.
The basic thing to understand
is that no one lives in a universal culture. We all live within a
specific and unique culture. And what is right, good, normal, acceptable
in one culture may be completely absurd in another.
It is these
specific cultural differences that we are called to recognize as
professional practitioners.
In Germany, plays and movies are
more likely to have a tragic or unhappy ending than those produced in
the USA. Their culture also is ten times more likely to walk in a
bathing suit on the beach no matter what their body type and size over
those in Japan or North America.
When it comes to fear, nearly
65% of Japanese cannot identify a specific fear, but rather just feel
fear all the time. While in the USA the strongest fears have to do with
being rejected and behaviors which might cause that.
When we
look at physical contact, what’s normal and abnormal also differs
between cultures and society.
Whereas it is cross-cultural to
perform sexual acts in private, public display of affection seems to
chase along a vast spectrum. The University of Florida sent
researchers to observe couples having coffee in a public place. They
made their observations in cities across the world.
In London
couples rarely or never touch each other. In Paris, they saw an average
of 10 touches during their coffee and in San Juan, Puerto Rico they saw
contact an average of 180 times.
Cultural differences even
exist within the same country depending on the region. For example, if
you bump into a man in the North of the USA, the testosterone level in
his bloodstream does not rise significantly. However, if you bump into a
man in the Southern states, where a culture of honor is highly regarded,
a sharp rise in cortisol and testosterone can actually be
detected.
It is culture and not so much human instinct which
ascribes morals and values beyond the inherent aversion to killing and
rape. In some culture it is even acceptable to lie and cheat. In these
cultures corruption is expected and accepted.
Yet even
within particular cultures there is a continuity of conflict. Meaning,
there are differences within the culture which provide for thinking and
behaving outside of the norm.
Considering these vast
cultural variations is essential to a thriving and effective therapeutic
practice. It is wise to consider an individual’s cultural
influences when evaluating any particular client. Familiarize yourself
and understand their culture and what their particular culture considers
as their norms and values.
Witness your counter-transference
issues moment-to-moment. Are there cultural differences provoking your
reaction? Find a qualified and skilled supervisor who has gained wisdom
through practice as well as one who has education in the various ways of
psycho-social development.
Professional supervision is not optional
for those who consider themselves professionals in the therapeutic
field. The support and insights you gain through professional
supervision will continuously develop your professional aptitude and
leadership qualities.
More on supervision in future
editions.
Suggested readings:
1. The Social Animal; The
Hidden Sources of love, Character and Achievement by David
Brook
2. Human Universals by Donald E Brown, professor of cultural
anthropology (emeritus)
3. Connected; The surprising Power of our
Social Networks by Nicholas A. Christakis, MD Ph. D and James Fowler,
PhD
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