Professional Documents
Culture Documents
We all view life through the lens of our prior experiences. We can train ourselves to
question the assumptions of this filter, but the filter will always remain; that is human nature.
Reflecting back on my history and experiences, it is rather probable that my observations,
attitudes, and intervention choices will be influenced in a particular direction.
I am usually scientifically inclined in all walks of my life. Yet, I have had such a strong
connection with cultural identity based off of my experiences and not simply my knowledge
of my genetic makeup. I identify rather strictly as Jewish and not as mixed race. Having this
value, my attitude towards clients has been, and will likely continue to be one of which I do
not make assumptions of a person based on the way they look, or the titles on their medical
paperwork. I instead engage each person in an exploration and allow them to shape their
sense of identity for me.
Furthermore, because my culture values community and family, I will be inclined to use
interventions that connect community resources. I believe this will be to the advantage of my
clients because many cultures share this community oriented value. The research also
supports greater resistance towards psychological trauma when an individual has a reliable
social network.
My Experience as a member from a minority culture should also prove helpful in crosscultural counseling. My intimate understanding of what minority cultures experience will
help me to have genuine empathy towards this situation, and be able to validate the clients in
ways that a counselor from the dominant culture could never do. These are all positive
aspects of my experiences relative to cross-cultural counseling.