Transcript Document

Culture-centered Disaster
Mental Health: Meeting the
Needs of Children and
Adolescents
Dr. Cirecie West-Olatunji
Rachael Goodman
University of Florida
Int'l Counseling Conference 2007 - Shanghai
Problem Statement
Gulf Coast communities impacted by
Hurricane Katrina needed post-disaster
mental health services
Int'l Counseling Conference 2007 - Shanghai
Problem Statement (cont.)
Historically marginalized communities
require attention to contextual issues,
including historical trauma and
oppression (Harrell, 2000)
Int'l Counseling Conference 2007 - Shanghai
Review of the Literature:
Multicultural Considerations
• Culture impacts coping strategies; dominant vs.
non-dominant groups use different coping
methods (Scott, 2003)
Int'l Counseling Conference 2007 - Shanghai
Review of the Literature:
Multicultural Considerations
• Culturally marginalized individuals may
experience ecological stressors in addition to the
disaster (Harrell, 2000)
Int'l Counseling Conference 2007 - Shanghai
Review of the Literature:
Multicultural Considerations
• Thus it is critical to provide mental health
services for children and adolescents that
address previously existing mental health needs
in addition to current disaster-related concerns
Int'l Counseling Conference 2007 - Shanghai
Attending to Multicultural
Considerations
• Thus it is critical to provide mental health
services for children and adolescents that
address previously existing mental health needs
in addition to current disaster-related concerns
Int'l Counseling Conference 2007 - Shanghai
Attending to Multicultural
Considerations
• This includes case conceptualization, which
should be done within the framework of the
individual’s own culture
(Holdstock, 2000; Ibrahim et al., 2001; Kambon, 1996)
Int'l Counseling Conference 2007 - Shanghai
Culture-centered Interventions
• Collectively identify the issue and try new
perspectives (Nobles, 1984)
Int'l Counseling Conference 2007 - Shanghai
Culture-centered Interventions
• Collective, narrative group approach through the
Story Circle format (Junebug Productions, 2000;
Williams-Clay, West-Olatunji & Cooley, 2001)
Int'l Counseling Conference 2007 - Shanghai
Culture-centered Interventions
• Systemic/ecological perspective (Pardeck &
Chung, 1997) through the Community-as-client
model (West-Olatunji & Watson, 1999)
Int'l Counseling Conference 2007 - Shanghai
Recommendations
• Increase scholarship on racism-related PTSD
(Olatunji, 1997) in order to develop an
understanding of the relationship between racism
and trauma
Int'l Counseling Conference 2007 - Shanghai
Recommendations
• Augment counselor preparation to enable
counselors to respond to culturally diverse
individuals
Int'l Counseling Conference 2007 - Shanghai
Selected References
Harrell, S. P. (2000). A multidimensional conceptualization of racism-related stress:
Implications for the well-being of people of color. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry,
70, 42-57.
Holdstock, T. L. (2000). Re-examining psychology: Critical perspectives and African
insights. Philadelphia: Routledge.
Ibrahim, F. A., Roysircar-Sodowsky, G., & Ohimshi, H. (2001). Worldview: Recent
developments and needed directions. In J. G. Ponterotto, J. M. Casas, L. A. Suzuki, & C.
M. Alexander (Eds.). Handbook of multicultural counseling (2nd ed., pp. 425-456).
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Junebug Productions. (2000). Junebug’s story circle process.
http://home.gnom.org/~junebug/story4.html.
Kambon, K.K.K. (1996). The Africentric paradigm and African American psychological
liberation. In D. A. ya Azibo (Ed.), African Psychology in Historical Perspective & Related
Commentary (pp. 57-69). Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, Inc.
Nobles, W. W.(1986). Ancient Egyptian Thought and the Development of African (Black)
Psychology. In M. Karenga & J. H. Carruthers (Eds.) Kemet and the African worldview:
Research, rescue and restoration (pp. 100-118). Los Angeles: University of Sankore
Press.
Int'l Counseling Conference 2007 - Shanghai
Selected References cont.
Olatunji, C. A. (1997). Culture-centeredness training as an intervention for
chronic racism-related post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in AfricanAmerican adolescents. Unpublished dissertation: University of New Orleans.
Pardeck, J. T. & Chung, W. S. (1997). Treating powerless minorities through an
ecosystem approach. Adolescence, 32, 625-34.
Scott, Jr., L. D. (2003). Cultural orientation and coping with perceived
discrimination among African American youth. Journal of Black Psychology, 29,
235 - 256.
West-Olatunji, C., Watson, Z. (1999). Community-as-client mental health needs
assessment: Use of culture-centered theory & research. The Community
Psychologist, 31, 36-38.
Williams-Clay, L., West-Olatunji, C., & Cooley, C. (2001). Keeping the story
alive: Narrative in the African-American church and community, with Educational
Resource Information Clearinghouse - Counseling and Related Services (ERICCASS) ERIC No: ED462666, pp. 1-9.
Int'l Counseling Conference 2007 - Shanghai
Q&A
Int'l Counseling Conference 2007 - Shanghai
Contact Information
Cirecie A. West-Olatunji, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Counselor Education
College of Education
University of Florida
1204 Norman Hall
POBox 117046
Gainesville, FL 32611
(352) 392-0731 x-235
(352) 846-2697 (fax)
[email protected]
Rachael D. Goodman, Ed.S.
Doctoral Student
Department of Counselor Education
College of Education
University of Florida
1204 Norman Hall,
POBox 117046
Gainesville, FL 32611
(214) 282-4507
(352) 846-3011 (fax)
[email protected]
Int'l Counseling Conference 2007 - Shanghai