1. According to the text, describe and discuss the unique considerations you may have to undertake as a counselor when working with the elderly client and how you would handle them. According to the text, the following are suggestions in offering mental health services to the elderly:
A, Counselor shall have proper skills and training in counseling adults. Counselor shall assess their own attitude about quality of life. B, Be knowledge about the legal and ethical issues that may rise when working with the elderly; example, competency issues. C, Determine reason for evaluation and the social facets related to the issues such as, recent losses, financial stressors and family matters.
D, Show the elderly respect and give them as much as autonomy as much as possible, regardless of mental health status. I am currently a secondary caregiver for my grandmother, in her late 90s who has dementia for over a decade. Certainly when providing care for the elderly, there is never a one-size fit all. Nonetheless, I have discover (in addition to the text) that ‘creating a therapeutic partnership’ or working as a team is a universal strategy in counseling the ageing client. Working with older clients and a caregiver should be involved in creating a genuine sense of partnership in planning goals, strategies, and communication activities. Other technique is the key to be patience.
Being tolerance not only working with the client, but the time it take for me or a counselor to solicit valuable information requested, and the manner in which information is used to assist the patient. Me personally I always want to make my grandmother (or prospective client) feel valued early on by actively seeking input. Usually it is helpful for me to begin the process by encouraging my grandma (with my facilitation) to prepare a list of background information, issues and concerns, questions, and any other information that would be helpful for her us when requested by our partnership (primary caregiver, doctor, nurse, etc.) Once the information has been attained, we then make sure the information is to be used effectively (financial concern), modify is necessary and or ask our partnership for recommendations.
2. Identify and describe some of the unique counseling considerations you may have to undertake when working with a person who identifies as LGBT, but feels they have been discriminated against and how you would handle them. Considerations I want to include when working with LGBT are: A, I must realize that LGBT client may have problem similar to those of straight people, but LGBT may display unique concern such differences in the degree of comfort with public demonstration of their relationship.
B, certainly feel that LGBT client may have been subject to hate crimes, and that it is difficult for them to trust others. I further consider that these unique clients may face depression, anger (see them at work every day), PTSD and self-blame they often experience. C, I need to be mindful that common mental health concerns may include stress due to prejudice discrimination, coming our process, lack of family support, peers, and school, being a victim of assault, suicidal ideation, substance abuse and much more. When working with gays and lesbians, I want to know where my client is in terms of approval and acceptance.
Since their sexuality is their issue, understanding their stages is even more important. Further, I need to be watchful that therapy should be treated no different than marital therapy (if the come in a couple), aside from the obvious legal and societal issues. I then want to treat my client (s) of their relationship the same sincerity as any straight committed relationship. By doing so, I should be aware that like any sexual relationship, their intimacy concerns, faithfulness matters, children, parents, and other concerns that may be a part of treatment and undoubtedly will take into consideration.
3. According to the text, describe and discuss the unique considerations you may have to consider as a counselor when working with the Native American client and how you would handle them. A, Since Native Americans (NA) taking their tribes seriously, I should assess the role that tribal relationships play when proving therapy for NA clients. I need to recognize that many NA is likely to feel a lot less comfortable when they are residing or talking about things that are outside of their tribes; fact that many use the word “here” to define their culture, and “there” to describe everything outside of its reservation (Sue & Sue, 2008).
B, Besides their tribes, NA unquestionably value their family and therefore I should be aware of any extended families, and those relative may be involved when counseling NA clients. If I must see that their extended families or other persons play a role in the existing problem, then it might be appropriate that they be involved in the therapy. As with any minority clients, self-examination is a must possess by a counselor and I shall NOT let it be threatened by cultural differences. As an alternative, I must be culturally competent not only accepts dissimilarities but values and seeks them out as prospective strengths so that I can meet my NA client’s needs.
Some of those needs that I can use to handle NA clients is by accepting their cultural differences and become attentive of how they may affect the helping process. I then want to be flexible by sharing about my culture and heritage so that my NA clients know that I too, interested in their tribes and traditions. Most importantly Dr. Sue suggest that counselor working with NA client is the ability to listen to the client patiently. Further, he claimed that if counselors truthfully listening and being sympathetic, we just may immerse into the culture and would want to study more about them to excel our therapy technique.
4. Identify and describe some of the unique counseling considerations you may have to undertake when working with a person who identifies as Bi-racial, but feels they have been discriminated against and how you would handle them. A. First, I want to take into account any historical proceedings that may have affected my client family, their ethnic or racial group, and gendered experience. Second, I would want to be aware of my own stereotype and preconceptions concerning interracial relationships. If I can be aware of my own biases, I then can avoid imposing them on my client. B. I should see multiracial people in a holistic fashion rather than as fractions of a person. I then should consider emphasizing my biracial client of their total person but not has part.
C. I need to let them choose their freedom (remember the Bill of Rights) because there is no one identity suitable for everyone. As the text have mention, racial ID model discussed in the chapter all have limitation, and therefore it is pertinent to keep in mind that ID are both changing and fluid rather than fixed. D. Recognize that counseling maybe valuable with mixed race clients, especially if they are children.
I have to be mindful that parents (themselves often multiracial) are unaware of the unique conflicts related to their child’s multiracial lifelong. Since working with multicultural diversity client is my daily routine, I habitually recommended reading and other methods of homework for my client to work on outside of the treatment hour. At the end of the day, this self-education is used to make conscious choices to act in ways that they may feel more congruent with themselves and constructive.