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Socio-Cultural Empathic Counseling

Socio-Cultural Empathic Counseling. Dr. Michael Anthony Ingram “The Counseling Poet” Counselor Education and Supervision Oregon State University October 13, 2000. I believe…. Counselors should strive to challenge oppression and empower people,

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Socio-Cultural Empathic Counseling

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  1. Socio-Cultural Empathic Counseling Dr. Michael Anthony Ingram “The Counseling Poet” Counselor Education and Supervision Oregon State University October 13, 2000

  2. I believe… Counselors should strive to challenge oppression and empower people, regardless of gender, race, national origin, sexual orientation, religion, ability, and fiscal wealth.

  3. Art and Science

  4. I utilize poetry … • To conceptually explore the lived experiences of persons from marginalized groups as it is expressed through poetry and creative expression.

  5. Poetry helps us • Understand the use of metaphor as mediator between those lived experiences and the dominant discourse.

  6. Poetry assists us • To grasp the importance of acknowledging the feelings behind another person's lived experience through counselor empathy

  7. Poetry empowers us • To view poetry in counseling contexts as being transformative in terms of motivation, social action and diversity awareness.

  8. Life is . . .

  9. A MYSTERY, UNFOLD IT.A JOURNEY, WALK IT.PAINFUL, ENDURE IT.BEAUTIFUL, SEE IT. A JOKE, LAUGH AT IT. A SONG, SING IT.A FLOWER, SMELL IT.WONDERFUL, ENJOY IT.

  10. A CANDLE, LIGHT IT.PRECIOUS, DON'T WASTE IT.A GIFT, OPEN IT.LOVE, GIVE IT.UNLIMITED, GO FOR IT.LIGHT, SHINE IN IT.I AM ALL THAT LIFE ISAnonymous

  11. Yet there are a number of issues that can affect psychological well- being: • School violence • Family issues • Teen pregnancy • Drug and Alcohol Abuse • Sexual abuse • Domestic Violence • Poverty

  12. Depression • It's A Crime to Feel So Blue … • In the counseling relationship, a client or student can feel convicted if the counselor is not aware of possible value judgments being made in statements and responses.

  13. It's a crime to feel so blue,although I like the hue of blue in the summertime,as a backdrop for the sky.Then, it's resplendent color highlightsthe white puffs of cotton that speckle the horizon.Yet, it's wintertime,and the cerulean skies have gone and what remains isjust the color bluenow a melancholy shade that does nothingbut remind me of the severity of my discontent.It's a crime to feel so blue.If you're my judge,either convict me or set me free.Michael Anthony Ingram

  14. As counselors how do we assist others? Verbal communication Nonverbal communication Active listening Nonjudgmental statements Mutual understanding Empathy

  15. From a Narrative Perspective….People make sense of their lives through storiesThere are multiple ways of being, knowing and experiencing reality…

  16. To Live a Life in Less Than a Lifetime

  17. "Why didn't you allow me like other children to age peacefully?"But like me, your childhood was snatchedat what seemed to be the drop of a hator maybe it was due to that emotional scarthat still festers in the middle of your back?I know that you still don't remember.Did it occur in late June or early September?All you know is that your childhood is gone,and you want God to tell you what went wrong.Because you lived a life in less than a lifetime,and it took you less than a lifetime to live.Michael Anthony Ingram

  18. What happens when the variables of race, gender and ethnicity are included in a client’s or student’s story?Psychological qualities such as attitudes, values, beliefs, and perceptual processes that were acquired in response to racial, gender and ethnic socialization influence the working alliance between the counselor and client. Helms & Cook (1999)

  19. The level of social and cultural changes that exist in America were unthinkable a generation ago. • The graying of America • The browning of America • The diversity within family structures • The growing homeless population • The impact of AIDS/HIV on diverse groups • The changing immigration patterns

  20. European American population grew 6% African American population grew 13.2% Indian/Native population grew38% Asians/Pacific Islanders grew 108% Latinos grew 53% 45 % growth for persons of other races Robinson & Howard-Hamilton, 2000 Statistics in the last decade…

  21. As more and more individuals are entering counseling relationships from diverse social, economic and cultural backgrounds, it is imperative that counselors develop a working knowledge of the unique cognitive and affective needs of culturally diverse clients.

  22. Socio-Cultural Empathic Counseling…The therapeutic exploration of the cognitive and affective lived experiences of clients as these experiences pertain to the convergence or race, gender and ethnicity.Ingram, 2000

  23. Components for socio-cultural empathic counseling: • Explore lived experience • Realism Vs. Idealism • Emotional consciousness • Critical consciousness • Interdependence/Independence • Empowerment • Empathy

  24. Realism Vs. Idealism • When I dream of Paris

  25. When I dream of Paris,the sky is filled with expatriate desires,desires that meld like Dali landscapes across the horizon. I walk briskly along the Champ Elysees,stopping only to drink coffee at a small cafe near the river's edge.I must drink quicklyfor expatriate desires don't linger longwhen you live in a small-town, North Carolina. A place where Dali is better known as the name of the melancholy schoolgirl,with faraway eyes who lived fastand died young. Michael Anthony Ingram

  26. I Can See the Tops of Trees

  27. I can see the tops of trees, but I can't reach them.Lord knows I've tried to reach the tops of trees,in my mind, in my life, in my time.Yet every time I scale the heights of an old oak treein order to reach the limb of the highest branchand touch the greenest leaf,Reality gently, but assuredly pushes me back down to the ground.And there I am looking up at the tops of trees,in my mind, in my life, in my time. Michael Anthony Ingram

  28. Emotional Consciousness • Being aware of and critically analyzing the feelings and emotions that underlie life experiences and or events. • Lack of awareness of these underlying emotions can lead to feelings of angst, stress or confusion. • In this particular context, emotional consciousness pertains to the awareness and analyzing of feelings that results from dealing with racism and oppression and their impact on cognitive and emotional stability.

  29. Empowerment • As counselors, it is important that we affirm our client’s individuality and diversity. Life, unlike the rules of grammar is not lived in a prescribed fashion. Therefore, acknowledging the value systems, as well as the historical, social, cultural and political contexts of existence – empowers our clients to live fully as unique and whole beings

  30. Grammatically Incorrect Nouns Adjectives Verbs

  31. What I am is grammatically incorrect!My language is the language of difference.I do not conform to standard usage or to prescribed ways of thinking, knowing, believing, loving, aging or behaving.Therefore, take me as I am -I am creatively and uniquely whole - totally me. Grammatically incorrect, but free! Michael Anthony Ingram

  32. Six steps of socio-cultural empathic counselingI utilize sociocultural poetry in conjunction with a Counselor Empathy Model(See Yager, Brecht & Ocheltree, 1975 for an elaboration of this model) to develop the concept of socio-cultural empathic counseling. • What can I pat myself on the back for with respect to this student/client? • What have I done right to assist the client during theinteraction? Step 1

  33. Step 2 • What has this individual said directly and verbally about their feelings related to learning about the counseling process and acquisition of skills?

  34. Step 3 • What has the individual communicated about feelings though nonverbal expression?

  35. Step 4 • How am I feeling right at this moment during this interaction?

  36. Step 5 • If I were this individual with this individual’s lived experience, background, culture, and world view how would I feel during the interaction?

  37. Step 6 • How can I reflect the individual’s feelings by forming an empathy statement that demonstrates my understanding of the verbal and nonverbal information that occurred during the interaction? • “It sounds like you feel . . . when"

  38. Empathy • If you have difficulty understanding the individual’s lived experience as it pertains to culture, gender, ethnicity attempt to resonate with the feelings behind the lived experience • [In other words, acknowledge and validate the feelings expressed.]

  39. Shelling Beans In a small Southern town … I shelled them at the feet of a queen!

  40. “You see, shelling beans is a time honored taskand if you don't remember how?Then I should have never asked.For it means that you have forgottenthat true wealth comes from the fruit of the earth,from any place else, what is its real worth?

  41. “So my son. tell me your story.Is it only of the riches and the glory?Or, is it also of remembering howto do the common and simple things--like shelling beans,in addition to all that you've seen?”

  42. “Mama,” I said in a sheepish voicethat trembled, but not by choice.“I do remember!I do remember”So I grabbed that sack and helped shell those beans!we shelled for what went on like hours it seemed.But, on that day,I did not mind shelling beans--because I shelled them at the feet of a queen!Michael Anthony Ingram

  43. Poetry helps us • Understand the use of metaphor as mediator between those lived experiences and the dominant discourse.

  44. Socio-Cultural Empathic Counseling…The therapeutic exploration of the cognitive and affective lived experiences of clients as these experiences pertain to the convergence or race, gender and ethnicity.Ingram, 2000

  45. Credits Helms, J.E., & Cook, D. A. (1999). Using race and culture in counseling and psychotherapy: Theory and Practice. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Ingram, M. A. (2000). Shelling beans and other collected poems. Corvallis, Oregon: Pacific Design Team. Ingram, M. (2000). Shelling Beans: The use of sociocultural to assist pre-service teachers and counselors develop empathic understanding of cultural differences. Manuscript submitted to the Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development. Robinson, T., & Howard, M.H. (2000). The convergence of race, ethnicity and gender: Multiple identities in counseling. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc. Yager, G.G., Ochlteree. J.K., & Brekke, D. (1975). Cognitive self-modeling approach vs. Carkhuff model for empathy training. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Education Research Association, Washington, D.C. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service Number 106726).

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