Cross-Cultural Comparison of Mental Disorders (2)
Cross-Cultural Comparison of Mental Disorders (1)
There are three categories or keys to developing cultural competency: knowledge, skills, and attributes. These will catapult any psychiatrist into a world of better understanding, accurate diagnoses, and selection of the correct treatment or therapy program.
Knowledge
- Knowledge of clients’ culture (history, traditions, values, family systems, artistic expressions).
- Knowledge of the impact of racism and poverty on behaviour, attitudes, values, and disabilities.
- Knowledge of the help-seeking behaviours of ethnic minority clients.
- Knowledge of the roles of language, speech patterns, and communication styles in different communities.
- Knowledge of the impact of social service policies on the clients color.
- Knowledge of the resources (i.e., agencies, persons, informal helping networks, research) available for ethnic minority clients and communities.
- Recognition of how professional values may either conflict or accommodate the needs of clients from different cultures.
- Knowledge of how power relationships within communities or institutions impact different cultures.
Professional Skills
- Techniques for learning the cultures of ethnic minority client groups.
- Ability to communicate accurate information on behalf of culturally different clients and their communities.
- Ability to openly discuss racial and ethnic differences/issues and to respond to culturally based cues.
- Ability to assess the meaning that ethnicity has for individual clients.
- Ability to discern between the symptoms of intra-psychic stress and stress rising from social structure.
- Interviewing techniques that help the interviewer understand and accommodate the role of language in the client’s culture.
- Ability to utilize the concepts of empowerment on behalf of culturally different clients and communities.
- Ability to use resources on behalf of ethnic minority clients and their communities.
- Ability to recognize and combat racism, racial stereotypes, and myths among individuals and institutions.
- Ability to evaluate new techniques, research, and knowledge as to their validity and applicability in working with people of color.
Personal Attributes
Personal qualities that reflect “genuineness, empathy, nonpossessiveness, warmth,” and a capacity to respond flexibly to a range of possible solutions.
Acceptance of ethnic differences between people.
A willingness to work with clients of different ethnic backgrounds.
Articulation and clarification of the worker’s personal values, stereotypes, and biases about his/her own and others’ ethnicity and social class. Also, recognizing ways that these views may accommodate or conflict with the needs of clients of different cultures. (Saldana p. 2-3)
“All men are created equal,” is a statement that can be scrutinized from every angle. As mentioned earlier there are major differences, simple as brown eyes and blue eyes, and complex as the Korean language and the English language. In the author’s eyes, a disorder is a disorder. It must be dealt with appropriately but when dealing with a person from the Far East or anywhere in the world, it must be appropriate for the clients’ cultural background. Regardless of race, mental disorders are a serious matter. They are frightening to the client as well as the psychiatrist. The feeling of “helplessness” can be overwhelming for a client. It is the clinician’s duty as a “physician” and a “human being” to help their client to the best of their abilities. This includes cultural competence. Some doctors may feel “god-like” but if their Chinese client does not improve with “proper” therapy because a simple over-looking of some relevant information pertaining to the culture-bound syndrome he/she is suffering from, it can detrimental not only to the client but to the practicing physician as well.
The education does not cease upon receiving a Ph.D. It continues for a lifetime. The goal of an athlete is to become an elite athlete. It should be the goal of every psycho-pathologist to be the best he/she can be. Adding cultural competence to one’s repertoire can be likened to a pitcher adding a third go to pitch. It can only help you and your teammates. Your teammates . . . your fellow human beings.
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