Counseling A Native American Client

Native Americans have been neglected, abused, and tormented since the 1700’s when their land was abruptly invaded by Europeans. Europeans declared this “unknown” territory to be their property from then forward and did anything and everything to make sure this would happen. This included forced assimilation, where Natives were stripped of their cultural traditions and forced to assimilate to an english speaking, westernized culture (McLeigh, 2010). This included taking children from their families and sending them to boarding school to learn a new language, new cultural traditions, and new religious practices. Starting in 1860 and lasting until 1970, children were taken from their families at a young age and often lost touch with their family

It is well-known that the health issue of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people has been constantly discussed and analysed up to the present. Indigenous Australian experience poorer health outcome compare to other population in Australian, and also they experienced significantly higher rates of mental illness within their communities, and the suicide rate approximately more than double higher than for the general population (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare,2009). The purpose of this essay is to discuss the factor that associated with higher rate of mental illness and suicide behavior regard to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the concept of cultural, social and emotional well-being that triggers this phenomenon.

A specific person (or people) in each tribe are acknowledge as healers. They are usually taught from generation to generation. “Healing does not follow written guidelines. Healers work differently with each person they help. They use their herbs, ceremony and power in the best way for each individual.” (NLM) Ceremonies are a crucial part of the Native healing process, “because physical and spiritual health are intimately connected, body and spirit must heal together. Traditional healing ceremonies promote wellness by reflecting Native conceptions of Spirit, Creator, and the Universe. They can include prayer, chants, drumming, songs, stories, and the use of a variety of sacred objects.” (National Institute of Health) These ceremonies are considered very sacred. Non-Natives are allowed to come by invite only. As one can tell they are very cherished, spiritual, pious ceremonies and not just anyone can be a part of them.

there is a difference in values and beliefs and that this is ok. They may

Native Americans have experienced a “historical trauma” that is characterized by enduring a history of institutional racism and discrimination by the dominant culture in America (Hays & Erford, 2014). Even today, Native Americans are being forced to assimilate or abandon their rich cultural heritage through the policies of our nation. With these ongoing discriminatory actions, counselors have a unique opportunity to lessen the effects of racism and discrimination that impact Native Americans. According to the ACA Code of Ethics (2014), counselors have the ethical responsibility to advocate for people who are faced by systemic oppression and discrimination. In our text, Hays and Erford (2014) suggest facilitating opportunities to advocate for Native people by raising social awareness by educating the masses through writing articles, disseminating educational materials, and even facilitating cultural sensitivity training programs in the community. Counselors may even empower Native people to advocate for themselves, drawing from the strengths of the community.

Every culture has their own way of life, their own religious beliefs, their own marriage beliefs, their own values and feelings on life and the options it has to offer. Each culture has their own way to run things within their own government, and own way to keep their economy up to their standards. Also each culture and society have their own primary mode of subsistence that makes them unique. Among the Navajo culture their primary mode of subsistence are pastoralists.   Pastoralists have an impact on different aspects with in the culture.   The aspects that I will be discussing will be the Navajo’s beliefs and values, economic organization, gender relations and sickness and healing.

The Native American culture is the original culture of the United States. Members of Native American tribes live throughout the country. “There are an estimated 4.9 million persons, in 565 federally recognized tribes who are classified as American Indian or Alaska Native (AI/AI), alone or in combination with one or more other designated racial classifications. This demographic group compromises 1.6% of the U.S. population” (Horowitz, 2012). Wisconsin is home to the Ho-Chunk (Winnebago), Ojibwa (Chippewa), and the Potawatomi tribes (“American”, 2014). It is important for nurses within this state, as well as any other state, to understand the Native American belief system in order to provide a quality healthcare experience. Nurses are the primary point of contact in the healthcare setting. Client advocacy is one of the nurse’s major roles. Therefore, the nurse should have the highest level of diversity understanding for the cultures within the local region.

Native Americans are always struggling with identification with their tribes traditions compared to Euro-American traditions. Counselors need to recognize that many Native Americans feel uncomfortable when talking about things outside of their context.

Native Americans on the reservations are at socially and economically disadvantage compared to persons who reside in metropolitan cities. Life advancement opportunities and individual accountability for better living standards are almost non-existence in many Native American communities. The environment that is around young adolescents are very

It is no secret that the Native American and Alaska Native (NA/AN) population is one of the most (if not, the most) overlooked and underserved communities in America. Perhaps because of their small numbers, rural habitats, or general neglect and antagonism by the part of the United States government (or a combination of all of these), extreme disparities in health exist among NA/AN communities. The detrimental effects that colonial settling and industrialization have had on the NA/AN lifestyle are obvious and well-documented. So too, are the physical health disparities that plague NA/ANs (diabetes, tuberculosis, obesity, etc). However, less data is readily available on the mental health challenges that NA/AN populations face. Furthermore, even

Usually, with treatment, there “tends to be a focus on Western medicine techniques that may be interpreted as belittling the culture’s traditional practices (Beiser 1985) or not validating American Indian spiritual ceremonies as therapy” (Larois et al., 2011). The American Indian culture is vastly different with specific customs. Naturally, “individuals entering treatment may desire treatment programs that are more culturally specific and can attend to the needs of their communities” (Larois et al., 2011). Clinicians can provide a level of comfort if therapeutic approaches are catered to the culture of American Indian clients. The barrier clinician’s run into is that “funding sources require the use of EBTs and these programs find themselves adapting their treatments to fulfill these requirements” (Larois et al., 2011). Insurances have an immense impact and say on the services offered because they are the ones paying. Clinicians can find themselves in a bind because they ultimately have to answer to these insurances companies who pay them for their services. The system is set up in a manner that is not conducive to the American Indian culture.

Healthcare is an ever changing entity with an ever changing population of clients. In current day 2016, the United Sates has become a melting pot of many different cultural backgrounds, which has led to changes within the system to accommodate the patient base. Unfortunately, not all changes have been able to effectively reach any and all persons from every background. We still see language and cultural barriers that have direct correlation to the inability to seek healthcare and or the ability to change cultural perspectives to ensure healthy lifestyles. Within this paper, the health of American Indian and Alaskan Native populations will be discussed along with the barriers to care and the

When caring for a Native American patient, it is imperative that the nurse provide culturally competent care. In this scenario, there are two main dimensions along which cultural tensions between the patient and the nurse can arise. The first pertains to the actual practices and values of Native American culture, which may be at odds with the practices and values of dominant healthcare institutions. The second is both broader and more subtle: it pertains to the historical relationship of the Native American people and the

Interviewing a Native American elder helped me to better understand her physical and emotional needs. I learned that the elders are vulnerable people who need support. After my interview, I recognized that there are many conditions that the Native American elders face such as lack of support from the government; discrimination from fellow Americans; lack of support from their families; limited respect from their community; lastly, they feel neglected because of their disabilities. Why are vulnerable groups suffering, especially elderly Native Americans? They are suffering because they have no advocates, and they don 't know the resources and programs that are available to them. We can avoid the difficulties they are facing by making sure that the communities, the U.S. government, relatives, and fellow Americans work together to support this vulnerable group of people.

The reading material from my textbook aligns with the issues presented in the video on Mental Health of Native Americans. The video talks about reconnecting adults and youths back into their culture. One issue is that American Indians have a low success rate academically. American Indian children often distrust European American which makes it difficult for cross cultural counseling. According to Baruth & Manning (2012), American Indian adolescents will end up being counseled by European American counselors because there are few American Indian counselors. The video states that there is high use of substance abuse, suicide, and dropout rates for American Indians. The textbook list suicide, alcohol abuse and other substance abuse, and high school and college drop-out rates as being potential problems American Indian adolescents may experience