haydee80

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone could help me. I'm a twenty six year old counseling student in Britain, and I'm trying to find out if Native American individuals find they are less drawn to using counseling services if the counselor is not a native, or in a more general sense what may put Native American off counseling altogether. I would be really grateful if anyone would like to write and give their opinions, as I would like to offer my counseling services to the native community but know there are many cultural differences which may make this a problem.
Many many thanks, Haydee Pritchard

WocusWoman

Yes. That is why I'm working to become a counselor in order to work with my own people. All I can advise whereever you decide to work, is to make yourself culturally aware and sensitive. If your going to live amoungst native people; then join in where you are asked to, you'd be surprised what a difference that will make in your field.

haydee80

Hi,

Thanks for responding to my posting. (wocuswoman) If you don't mind me asking do you think there are any specific reasons why native's don't favor white counselors. Do you think it is the counseling methods we use and out of interest what approach are you using? Am I allowed to ask what tribe you are from?

WocusWoman

Honestly, think about the history of the U.S. They came and invaded and killed our populations, and took our land... Even though I have white blood; I do not trust whites. I'am several tribes, but identify myself with the Klamath side from Oregon, since that is where I grew up and that is where my teachings have come from most. You need to realize there are hundreds of tribes in the U.S., and probably a hundred more that are not formally recognized by the U.S. govt.

Singing Eagle

I work in the wellness field and have found that our people are more successful in making changes and getting healthier if they work with someone who is also NDN.

It's because we have a common history and there's no explaining to be done prior to getting into the work.

ndnMSW

I have a master's degree in clinical social work with an emphasis in health/mental health. I'm also an enrolled member of a federally recognized tribe in the US.

When I was in my master's degree program, one of the biggest turn-offs for me were the very young people in the program who had no real-world experiences of any kind, who didn't think twice about imposing their values on their clients (when we did role-playing in classes) and didn't think anything was wrong with that. They had no knowledge, nor any desire to learn, about working with diverse populations. It was scary to think that they were going to be providing direct services to people after graduation, and I saw this the last semester of our program.

I think that's the biggest drawback for any ethnic population in receiving counseling from someone outside their ethnic group. I know I went into social work because I wanted to be a counselor for Indian people because I didn't see how a non-Indian provider could be effective if they didn't have the cultural background or perspective to use as a point of reference in working with Indian people. The values are different, and not only that, all Indian people are different and come in with different levels of enculturation which can be a tricky thing for a non-Indian to understand.

I'm not saying that there aren't any non-Indian providers that are effective because there are many. But the reasons I stated above may be why a native counselor is preferred over a non-native counselor. Also what singing eagle said is a big reason.

WocusWoman

double post! had to delete.

WocusWoman

I agree with all that has been stated so far. I want to include that my degree program requires a culteral diversity class; and living in Alaska, there is a big emphasis on Native American/Native Alaskan populations. I couldn't not believe how ignorant people are about each other.

Lakota Wiyan

I have to applaud this post above ^....excellent point there! I believe in personal wellness, so I see a counselor just to get me through the various changes of my life, especially my role as a mother. I am definitely more comfortable speakin with a Native counselor for the simple fact stated by NDN Keith Urban above ..... It cuts down on the explaining of different customs/beliefs/rituals when explaining my OWN difficulties as a Native woman. God Bless Em, but a non native counselor just doesn't "get" me.

There is also the issue of language for alot of people. I speak English as my first language, but alot of Native people seeking wellness do not, and shouldn't have to, have a mastery of english that would enable to fully express their concerns and their emotions. There are also times when a phrase is best used in our Native languages that wholly encompass the entire concept we might be trying to convey......The concepts of Charity and Justice, when translated, can lose their actual, intended meaning, or can be completely distorted.

HOWEVER, my own personal disclaimer, if someone needs help, and you can just feel it in your soul when you do, any person trained to deal with wellness will do, and can often refer you on to a more appropriate counselor. The most important thing is to seek that help, and not let race be a barrier to accepting the help available.

haydee80

I certainly didn't mean to offend by my posting, my apologies if I have upset anyone, Haydee

WocusWoman

I don't believe you have offended anyone, least of all myself. You asked an honest question, and you open yourself up to honest answers. I suggest you really learn about the history of the Americas and how it has been exploited over the centuries.

Singing Eagle

I agree with Wocus woman - no offense taken.

ndnMSW

No offense was taken on my part either.......I'm just glad you're asking the questions.

haydee80

Okay, thats a relief! So I suppose my follow up question would be- would there be feelings of non understanding between ANY counselor that was non native or just white counselors in particular. For instance, how would you feel about getting counseling from an individual from another ethnic group- for instance a mexican american, african american etc? Many thanks, Hayd

DaCotau

There are some good books you could read that I think are very informative for non-Indian mental health workers. One is "Mental Healthcare for Urban Indians", another is "Native American Psychology". Both of these books give a good historical background on the experiences and perspectives of Native people and some insight into why traditional forms of psychotherapy and counseling are problematic. It is best to do a search on Amazon under American Indian/Native American Psychology or Counseling and read the reviews of the books. I would advise that you start there, I think many of the questions you have asked will be answered.

__________________
"No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible"
"You cannot give the people who have wronged you so much power that they take away your dreams"

haydee80

many thanks, will look up those books as soon as I can!