There are many incidences in daily life in which cultural differences between people may create tension or affect the working relationship they may have with one another. This tension can be incredibly heightened in the therapeutic alliance, being that it is an intimate (and in a sense fragile) relationship. In working with clients of various cultural backgrounds, I have witnessed how differences in age, gender, and ethnicity between client and therapist can contribute to intense moments in session.
When working in therapy with a twelve year-old African-American female (and her family) in a juvenile hall setting, there were many times in which my competency as a counselor were brought into question by the client’s parents. As a Middle-Eastern individual, who is often subsumed to be Caucasian, my client’s mother constantly questioned my knowledge about her culture and my ability to support her twelve year-old daughter through the legal issues and trauma she was experiencing. On one occasion, I was referred to as “a White girl who probably doesn’t know anything about ‘the streets’, and who is likely part of ‘the system’ and only here for school credit”. It was a hostile and uncomfortable confrontation. I worked to engage my client’s mother in a conversation regarding our differences in life experience; my aim was to highlight that although I may come from a different culture or neighborhood, my current role in her young daughter’s life was to provide support and guidance. I explained that I did not think that our cultural differences affected my ability to fulfill that role for her family. Fortunately, I was able to work with the young girl until she was released from jail into a group home, where I was able to continue mentoring her weekly. As my dedication to our mentorship became more discernable to her and her mother, it was clear that they began trusting me (and my intentions) more.
Our visits from behind the iron bars had now evolved into a casual relationship, where we would meet weekly and discuss her plans to return home and transition back into middle school. The difference now was that she genuinely trusted me and looked forward to seeing me. Before I would have brought her court papers to review in juvenile hall, whereas as now, six months later, I was able to bring McDonald’s and movies to our weekly visits. The evolution of our mentorship taught me so much about the malleability of social relationships and the capacity that the therapeutic relationship can contain.
- See more at: http://www.multiculturalhealing.org/blog-news-articles/different-culture-same-goals-sahar-dorani-ma#overlay-context=users/medhanie
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