Cultural Consideration in Crisis Interventions

1
Cultural Consideration in Crisis Interventions

• Betsy Cisneros
• Lindsay Hense

2
The Changing Face of Education

• Increase of non-English students
• Ethnic minorities are 70 95 of school
  population in 15 of the nations largest school
  districts
• PISD
• Diversity.

3
What is the Crisis?

• Poverty
• Discrimination
• Need for assimilation
• Extra stressors

4
Culture

• Everyone has a culture
• Individuals function in a number of cultures
• Family, national identification, religious,
  ethnic and professional
• Shared language, ideas, beliefs, values, and
  behavioral norms of a group of individuals with a
  group identity
• Comedians
• G. Lopez, C. Rock, J. Foxworthy.

5
School Culture

• Closely related to the dominant culture
• Children are usually the first to acculturate to
  the dominant culture
• Americanize
• Phuong.

6
Areas for Mindful Consideration3 questions to
think about.

• What incidents are perceived as crisis
• How an individual deals with crisis
• Appropriate ways of helping an individual during
  a crisis.

7
Culture and The Counselor

• Individuals have personality and it may be
  consistent or inconsistent with the culture from
  which the individual comes from.
• Difficult to predict values and behaviors
• Avoid stereotyping and unwarranted assumptions
• Individuals first, group members second.

8
Cultural Variations

• North America shared dominant culture
• Middle class
• Well educated
• English monolingual
• Assimilated into the western European culture.

9
Cultural Variations

• May share that culture
• May come from an entirely different tradition
• Not be English speaker
• Ideally, crisis response team be comprised of all
  the cultures represented in the school.

10
Differences

• Group vs. Individual
• Time is relative vs. rigid time schedule
• Accept affective expression vs. limit affective
  expression
• Extended family vs. nuclear family.

11
Differences

• Holistic vs. dualistic thinking
• Religion permeates culture vs. religion distinct
  from other parts of culture
• Accept worldview of others vs. believe own
  worldview is superior
• Socially oriented vs. task oriented

12
Examples dominant culture in United States

• Independence
• Individuality
• Self expression
• Democratic family relationships
• Family ties loose parents primarily responsible
  for children
• Individual can change and control events (belief)
  
• Nature can be dominated
• Possible to plan for the future
• Competition, achievement and punctuality are
  valued.

13
Examples of Latino culture

• Events are controlled by fate (God)
• Interpersonal relationships are highly valued
• Extended family highly valued
• Many relationships are hierarchical, rather than
  democratic
• Time is flexible and extendable
• Dignity and honor are highly respected
• Group cooperation highly respected.

14
Perceptions of Crisis

• Crisis reaction in dominant culture (death,
  suicide or natural disaster) may or may not have
  a similar affect on members of another culture
• Vice Versa eating a taboo food by accident
  could stimulate a crisis reaction
• Khmer culture, Dan and soccer

15
Cultural Factors and Reaction to Traumatic Events

• Culturally appropriate, but to Western eyes
  signs of a breakdown
• Mediation training Italian couple
• Wailing and crying self-mutilation and threats
  of suicide following the death of a loved one
• Culturally appropriate in Middle Eastern culture.

16
Cultural Factors and Reaction to Traumatic Events

• Language and Verbal Communication
• Ideal
• Sociolinguistic issue
• (good diplomacy) Please, Thank you
• Communications styles
• To the point or around the bush
• Interpreters
• Go over all task important to guidelines
• Building rapport, identify translator,
  confidentiality, cultural bridge / pre-conference
  and post-conference / debrief .

• Same Language

17
Non Verbal Communication

• Eye Contact
• Sustained (Middle Eastern) vs. indirect (Asian
  Native American)
• Proximity
• 2 ft vs. 5ft
• Gestures and physical contact.

18
Non Verbal Communication

• Religion
• Buddhist monk for Cambodian students
• Blessings or exorcism
• Holidays
• Dominant Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving
• Yom Kippur, Ramadan, Día de los Muertos
• Tet
• Shamans (Folk Healers) Phoung.

19
Other Cultural Factors

• Families
• Nuclear vs. extended
• Kinship terms cousin
• Attitudes toward counseling
• Group work.

• Food
• Music
• Dress
• Professional vs. Casual
• Gifts
• Social Status

20
M Ms

• Were just a bunch of M Ms
• Different shell coloring
• Same internal make-up
• Some of us are

• a little
• "nutty"
• inside

21

• www.intime.uni.edu/multiculture Integrating New
  Technologies Into the Methods of Education,
  University of Northern Iowa.
• www.cp-pc.ca/english Citizenship and Immigration
  Canada
• Cultural Diversity and Education Foundations and
  Curriculum and Teaching Banks, James A
• The Culturally Proficient School An
  Implementation Guide for School Leaders
  Lindsey, R.B, Roberts, L. M. , Campbell-Jones, F.
  

22

• Best Practices in School Crisis Prevention and
  Intervention S. E. Brock, P. J. Lazarus, S. R.
  Jimerson
• School House Rock, History Rock, The Great
  American Melting Pot Golden Book Video
• My Big Fat Greek Wedding Gold Circle Films,
  HBO, MPH Entertainment A Playtone Picture
• Texas, SpongeBob Squarepants, The Complete 1st
  Season, Disc 3