Multicultural Perspective On Depression

A therapist will face problems, issues and client troubles everyday. The professional must understand how their client relates to the world around them. These feelings and ideas affect how the client sees the problem and how they respond to their situation. Their actions, in turn, have bearing on individual thoughts, needs, and emotions. The therapist must be aware of the client's history, values, and culture in order to provide effective therapy. This paper will outline and provide information as to the importance of cultural competence and diversity in family therapy.

In my personal opinion and experience, I find that the field of psychology is lacking in diverse cultural competencies as much as the society is diverse in its population. I believe that as with using any theoretical model, the therapists’ cultural knowledge needs to include understanding of the many cultural considerations influencing the effectiveness of treatment when dealing with clients from diverse backgrounds. When servicing the individuals in the family, care and attention needs to be directed towards family and community norms and values around help seeking, secrecy and confidentiality, family roles, child rearing and spiritual practices.

The importance of a cross-cultural understanding in Psychology is imperative to successful care and assistance of mental health. Understanding and acknowledging the complexities of different cultures is the beginning of a more informed approach to mental health. Cultural factors and questions play a fundamental role, however, simply acknowledging cultural differences does not necessarily provide the best individual help. Thus, a combination of cultural, demographic and individual factors are crucial initial steps to specific individual assistance. Treating individuals in context can help discern deviations from cultural factors and norms. Therefore an approach which recognises that both culture and specificity to the client is most effective. Knowing someone’s background can be fundamental to clinical help but could also reinforce cultural stereotypes, this overly simplistic view could be detrimental to treatment. Throughout this essay the impact of culture on mental health will be examined, and how the health care provider and client mediate a relationship to produce the most effective results.

“Recent data estimate the overall prevalence of depression at about 11.1% of the American population, or nearly 35 million individuals (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). A predictive models suggest that up to 50% of the population will experience at least one episode of depression during their lives” (Life Extension, 2014). Depression has negatively affected the lives of many individuals throughout the world. Look around you there may even be someone close to you that is demonstrating signs of its stifling affects. Depression does not discriminate with its suffocating

The ideal way to deal with depression is to talk through it, one has to be open to a therapist or anyone who is qualified to take care of mental health. Yet in some subcultures in the United States, talking about one's feelings are almost taboo, take for example, the Hispanic/Latino culture. Where men must be men and not dare talk about their feelings, and where women must keep quiet about their mouths shut. According to Eudardo Colon, “The lack of validated assessment tools for depression in Hispanics may explain why they are least likely to be diagnosed and treated for depression” (“Diabetes and depression in the Hispanic/Latino community”). Clearly, this shows that Hispanic people tend to have less tools to help themselves realize that

The purpose of this section is to give voice and in a sense an opportunity for suffers of depression to express what depression feels like, the challenges that treatments or their failure pose on their lives, goals, personal sustainability, a space to express frustration but also hope.

Also research supports that ongoing stress impairs the growth of the nerve cell in the hippocampus. The amygdala is associated with emotions mainly fear and anger. With depressed individuals, a variety of scans show the amygdala to be very active and there is an increase in activity when the person is saddened or depressed. Even after affected people recovery, the increased activity in the amygdala is still present for a period of time. Another area of the body that research has determined plays a role with the development of depression is the endocrine system. The endocrine system is made up of small glands which are responsible for producing hormones and to release them into the bloodstream. The hormonal levels are keep constant and avoid

Even though sadness and grief are mandatory aspects of life, when sadness takes over the quality of someone’s daily life, they become depressed. Depression can be a debilitating disorder and can effect anyone at any time. Because of the broad spectrum of events that can cause depression, there are several different forms such as persistent depressive disorder, seasonal affective disorder, disruptive mood dysregulation disorder, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, major depressive disorder, manic depression, and bipolar disorder. With the prevalence of depression growing rapidly in today’s society, like many others, I know several people who have faced depression and even though they all have the same disorder, their experiences and outcomes

Depression is an affective disorder, demonstrating many symptoms such as “hopelessness, helplessness, personal devaluation, and extreme sadness” (depression, 1).Though sadness is something everyone experiences, people who have

Occasionally everyone has suffered from depression, weather it was long term or short term. Feeling hopelessness, irritablity, or feeling anxious or “empty” these symptoms can greatly effect people’s daily routines. Suddenly, waking up in the morning, trying to fall asleep or simply interacting with other people becomes one of the most difficult challenges. Depression can be cause by many things such as financial issues, relationship problems, family problems or an individual just may not be happy. Although, if this person uses their social imagination it may be a little easier for them to cope with their depression. Looking at their problems in a more general perspective helps them realize they are not alone and these are daily problems

Have you ever wondered what really causes depression? Or how people are even depressed and not just sad? The reason I chose this topic is because I have depression. Not only that but I only know a limited amount of this disorder, and also considering the fact that depression runs along side both of my mom’s and dad’s side of the family. My curiosity grows as I wonder, what does this really mean? Why was i diagnosed with depression? Is depression permanent or can it be cured? How? Where does depression come from? On this journey as i take you into the world of mental health knowledge, you will also get to know a little bit about depression, and maybe answer some of your questions.

In a multicultural counseling perspective there are four key approaches when counseling individuals, (a) multicultural awareness of culturally learned assumptions about self and others leading to accurate assessments of clients, (b) multicultural knowledge of information, (c) multicultural skills and interventions, that are appropriate treating clients, and (d) individuals are from a variety of backgrounds, demographic status, and affiliation of cultures. The three-stage approach, will direct the counselor towards levels of multicultural competence in therapy by providing a successful outcome in the recovery process. When conducting a psychotherapy session with a client the counselor should be able to demonstrate skills, when exploring the client’s cultural background. Counselors should also be able to focus on the essential skills and pattern behaviors, when identifying cultural differences. Counseling a minority from a different culture counselors’ must be able to identify their own personal behaviors. These behaviors are crucial when counseling these individuals. First, a counselor must be able to sense the clients’ viewpoint or issue in some way. Secondly, a counselor should be specific when asking a question rather than being unclear and confusing.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, “Nearly three million Australians live with depression and/or anxiety, which affects their wellbeing, personal relationships, career and productivity”. It is true that the real definition of depression is skewed amongst those in society. Some chose to believe that depression is a normal reaction to life’s stresses, like losing a loved one, getting fired from a job, going through a divorce, and other difficult situations, and that only when these feelings come without reason and persist long term should it be seen as a serious concern. Others believes that depression is no more than a sad feeling that is ignorable, only revealed to people for the sake of attention and the care that comes from pity and sympathy. Personally, I believe that depression is a scientifically proven mental illness, and as it dramatically alters one’s self and has become prevalent in society, it should be discussed with the gravity and urgency deserved to such a pressing topic.

Being aware of culture in the field has many benefits. The main benefit would be that it would help in providing better therapy for the client in question. Understanding how culture affects a client’s life can help explain the clients various roles and identities in life. Apart from that, understanding socio cultural settings will help the psychologist be more aware of the needs of their clients. For example, Indians are less comfortable in seeing a psychologist and are less liable to tell their family and friends that they are in currently undergoing therapy (Zhang, Snowden, & Sue, 1998). The psychologist should use information about the clients’ culture to personalise the therapy in order to enhance the effectiveness of it as well as to not discourage the client as well as to understand how culture affects the client and the disorder. The involvement of culture would also make the psychologist more aware of their own personal biases and mind-sets that maybe prevent the therapy from being effective. Creation of guidelines to help psychologists in the assessment of clients from varied cultures are important.

Sadness is how the human being reacts to the loss of a loved one, the struggles of life, the disappointments, and the frustrations. Although it is a normal feeling in all these situations, there is a broad difference between being sad and being depressed. Unlike normal feelings of sadness, depression overwhelms a person, last a long time, and interferes with his or her day-to-day life. According to the World Health Organization in 2010, depression was reported as the most common mental disorder; it affects 120 million people globally and is among the leading causes of disability. The person that suffers from depression has to deal with being misunderstood and under-diagnosed on a daily basis, which leaves the patient with physical,