Presentation Title
Integrating Religion and Spirituality in Counseling: Examples from Indian and South Korean Cultures
Location
Julk Hall 234
Presentation Type
Symposium
Start Date
4-12-2014 3:30 PM
End Date
4-12-2014 4:20 PM
Abstract
Integrating Religion and Spirituality in Counseling: Examples from Indian and South Korean Cultures
Since the emergence of the multicultural movement in counseling psychology about 30 years ago and more recently the international counseling movement, scholars have discussed the need for counseling practitioners to enhance their competence in working with multicultural (e.g., Arredondo et al., 1996; Sue et al., 1982; Atkinson, Thompson, & Grant, 1993) and international clients (Norsworthy, Heppner, Ægisdóttir, Gerstein, & Pedersen, 2009). The three dimensional model first proposed by Sue at al. (1982) and further operationalized by Arredondo et al. ( 1996) emphasized that counseling psychologists needed to increase their awareness, knowledge and skills when working with minority populations in the U.S. Furthermore, Atkinson et al. (1993) suggested that based on clients’ worldview, concern, and if the concern needed remediation or if prevention of future problems was needed that counseling professionals needed to take on various roles such as an advisor, a teacher, an advocate, a consultant, a change agent, or a facilitator of indigenous support and/or healing systems. To become more culturally competent, professionals should be aware that mainstream psychological theories and practice systems are culture bound (Kim, 2001). U.S. and Western psychological theories and practice systems are deeply rooted in Euro-American values of individualism, rationalism (cause-effect relations), and freedom and may not be congruent with values of people of diverse cultural groups and countries.
Therefore, given that counseling professionals are increasingly coming in contact with persons of diverse cultures it is important that they be aware of and understand indigenous ways of healing in order to be more multiculturally and cross-culturally competent. In the following presentation two examples are provided on how indigenous worldview can be intertwined with Western counseling approaches when working with people from Indian and South Korean cultures. The last presentation will focus on counseling implications for working with clients from diverse cultures and religious backgrounds.
Religious and spiritual aspects in Korean culture
In South Korea, religion and spirituality have played a critical role in the lives of the majority of people. The most common religion includes Shamanism, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Christianity (Lee, Suh, Yang, & Jang, 2012). Such religion is not merely a faith in a supernatural being, but fundamentally affects the way of life, the meaning of life and worldview in Korean culture. Therefore, it is imperative for counseling psychologists to be aware of and consider the influence of these spiritual aspects in order to provide culturally sensitive and effective counseling for Korean clients.
In this sense, this presentation focuses on two areas based on previous research and the presenter’s experiences in Korean culture. First, Koreans common religion/spirituality will be discussed with focusing on its uniqueness in Korean culture. For instance, this includes understanding the uniqueness of Korean Christianity due to syncretistic adaptations from Korean Shamanism (Jang, 2004). Second, the importance of religious/spiritual aspects for Korean will be discussed. For example, this includes how religious/spiritual aspects affect the mental health of Korean by influencing on coping strategies, seeking-help behaviors and social relationship (Kim, 2005; Kim 2006). Overall, this presentation will broaden attendees’ knowledge about Koreans unique religious and spiritual aspects and awareness of their importance in Korean culture.
Spiritual and religious healing with Hindus from the Indian sub-continent
According to Hodge (2004), Hinduism is the largest growing Asian religion in the U.S. It is a way of life. In fact, the practice of Hinduism is so important that religious beliefs and spirituality are the foundational components of healing. Some prominent beliefs in Hinduism are: Dharma- ethics/duties, Samsara- the cycle of birth, life, death and re-birth, Karma- action and the consequence of the action, Moksha- liberation from samsara, and Yogas- paths and practices. The duties of an individual depend on the Varna (four classes of Hinduism), Ashramas (stages of life) and gender. Lastly, Hinduism advocates practicing Ahimsa (non-violence), and respect for everything that has life.
Clearly, Hindu beliefs vary from the Western style of healing. Due to the growing number of Hindus, Counseling Psychologists would benefit from learning ways to incorporate Hindu methods of healing into the counseling environment. For example, Hindus believe in the concepts of community, interdependence and divinity (Hogde, 2004). Thus, Hindu clients would benefit from talking to and receiving guidance from elders and priests, visiting temples, reading Holy Scriptures, worshiping, chanting hymns, storytelling, and going to astrologers and fortunetellers for guidance. This presentation will further describe these indigenous methods of healing and how they can be integrated into western counseling systems and theories.
Counseling Implications
The way of life and worldview of Indians and South-Koreans greatly differ from the Western perspective. These cultures are based on a collectivistic framework and value present time, extended family, being in harmony with nature, symbolism, and holistic views (Dixon & Portman, 2010; Robinson-Zanartu, 1996). In addition, they believe in a holistic view and every aspect of life is related (Sue & Sue, 2008). For example, mind, body, and spirit are addressed together and will never be considered separate from one another.
These values and ways of living should be integrated into the therapist-client relationship for individuals from Indian and South-Korean cultures. There are numerous ways that counseling psychologists could implement collectivistic methods of healing such as meeting the client where he or she is (Sue & Sue, 2008), integrating chanting, storytelling and narrative therapy, and dream analysis. Furthermore, counseling psychologists could utilize other methods of traditional healing by incorporating mindfulness, meditation, and indigenous notion of Karma. For instance, when working with Indian clients, counseling psychologists should integrate Karma by encouraging clients to focus on fixing the present because they believe that improving the present will bring a better future. In addition, the presentation will discuss why narrative therapies and solution focused brief therapy may be useful theoretical modalities for working with Hindu and Buddhist clients.
Integrating Religion and Spirituality in Counseling: Examples from Indian and South Korean Cultures
Julk Hall 234
Integrating Religion and Spirituality in Counseling: Examples from Indian and South Korean Cultures
Since the emergence of the multicultural movement in counseling psychology about 30 years ago and more recently the international counseling movement, scholars have discussed the need for counseling practitioners to enhance their competence in working with multicultural (e.g., Arredondo et al., 1996; Sue et al., 1982; Atkinson, Thompson, & Grant, 1993) and international clients (Norsworthy, Heppner, Ægisdóttir, Gerstein, & Pedersen, 2009). The three dimensional model first proposed by Sue at al. (1982) and further operationalized by Arredondo et al. ( 1996) emphasized that counseling psychologists needed to increase their awareness, knowledge and skills when working with minority populations in the U.S. Furthermore, Atkinson et al. (1993) suggested that based on clients’ worldview, concern, and if the concern needed remediation or if prevention of future problems was needed that counseling professionals needed to take on various roles such as an advisor, a teacher, an advocate, a consultant, a change agent, or a facilitator of indigenous support and/or healing systems. To become more culturally competent, professionals should be aware that mainstream psychological theories and practice systems are culture bound (Kim, 2001). U.S. and Western psychological theories and practice systems are deeply rooted in Euro-American values of individualism, rationalism (cause-effect relations), and freedom and may not be congruent with values of people of diverse cultural groups and countries.
Therefore, given that counseling professionals are increasingly coming in contact with persons of diverse cultures it is important that they be aware of and understand indigenous ways of healing in order to be more multiculturally and cross-culturally competent. In the following presentation two examples are provided on how indigenous worldview can be intertwined with Western counseling approaches when working with people from Indian and South Korean cultures. The last presentation will focus on counseling implications for working with clients from diverse cultures and religious backgrounds.
Religious and spiritual aspects in Korean culture
In South Korea, religion and spirituality have played a critical role in the lives of the majority of people. The most common religion includes Shamanism, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Christianity (Lee, Suh, Yang, & Jang, 2012). Such religion is not merely a faith in a supernatural being, but fundamentally affects the way of life, the meaning of life and worldview in Korean culture. Therefore, it is imperative for counseling psychologists to be aware of and consider the influence of these spiritual aspects in order to provide culturally sensitive and effective counseling for Korean clients.
In this sense, this presentation focuses on two areas based on previous research and the presenter’s experiences in Korean culture. First, Koreans common religion/spirituality will be discussed with focusing on its uniqueness in Korean culture. For instance, this includes understanding the uniqueness of Korean Christianity due to syncretistic adaptations from Korean Shamanism (Jang, 2004). Second, the importance of religious/spiritual aspects for Korean will be discussed. For example, this includes how religious/spiritual aspects affect the mental health of Korean by influencing on coping strategies, seeking-help behaviors and social relationship (Kim, 2005; Kim 2006). Overall, this presentation will broaden attendees’ knowledge about Koreans unique religious and spiritual aspects and awareness of their importance in Korean culture.
Spiritual and religious healing with Hindus from the Indian sub-continent
According to Hodge (2004), Hinduism is the largest growing Asian religion in the U.S. It is a way of life. In fact, the practice of Hinduism is so important that religious beliefs and spirituality are the foundational components of healing. Some prominent beliefs in Hinduism are: Dharma- ethics/duties, Samsara- the cycle of birth, life, death and re-birth, Karma- action and the consequence of the action, Moksha- liberation from samsara, and Yogas- paths and practices. The duties of an individual depend on the Varna (four classes of Hinduism), Ashramas (stages of life) and gender. Lastly, Hinduism advocates practicing Ahimsa (non-violence), and respect for everything that has life.
Clearly, Hindu beliefs vary from the Western style of healing. Due to the growing number of Hindus, Counseling Psychologists would benefit from learning ways to incorporate Hindu methods of healing into the counseling environment. For example, Hindus believe in the concepts of community, interdependence and divinity (Hogde, 2004). Thus, Hindu clients would benefit from talking to and receiving guidance from elders and priests, visiting temples, reading Holy Scriptures, worshiping, chanting hymns, storytelling, and going to astrologers and fortunetellers for guidance. This presentation will further describe these indigenous methods of healing and how they can be integrated into western counseling systems and theories.
Counseling Implications
The way of life and worldview of Indians and South-Koreans greatly differ from the Western perspective. These cultures are based on a collectivistic framework and value present time, extended family, being in harmony with nature, symbolism, and holistic views (Dixon & Portman, 2010; Robinson-Zanartu, 1996). In addition, they believe in a holistic view and every aspect of life is related (Sue & Sue, 2008). For example, mind, body, and spirit are addressed together and will never be considered separate from one another.
These values and ways of living should be integrated into the therapist-client relationship for individuals from Indian and South-Korean cultures. There are numerous ways that counseling psychologists could implement collectivistic methods of healing such as meeting the client where he or she is (Sue & Sue, 2008), integrating chanting, storytelling and narrative therapy, and dream analysis. Furthermore, counseling psychologists could utilize other methods of traditional healing by incorporating mindfulness, meditation, and indigenous notion of Karma. For instance, when working with Indian clients, counseling psychologists should integrate Karma by encouraging clients to focus on fixing the present because they believe that improving the present will bring a better future. In addition, the presentation will discuss why narrative therapies and solution focused brief therapy may be useful theoretical modalities for working with Hindu and Buddhist clients.
