child and adolescent counseling chapter 2

Chapter 2

Developmental and
Cultural Considerations
To have one’s individuality completely ignored is
like being pushed quite out of life. Like being blown
out as one blows out a light.
Evelyn Scott

© 2011 Brooks/Cole, A


Chapter objectives
After reading this chapter, you should be able
to:
• Discuss ways to understand the needs of
children
• Outline theories and other explanations of
physical, cognitive, and social development
• Define culture
• Demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and
awareness of cultural competence
© 2011 Brooks/Cole, A


Children's well being
“A state of complete physical, mental and
social well-being, and not merely the
absence of disease”
( />
© 2011 Brooks/Cole, A

The Personal World of the Child
SELF-ACTUALIZATION
(Fulfillment
of Potential)
_________________

SELF ESTEEM
(Feeling good about oneself)
____________________________

LOVE AND BELONGING
(Feeling accepted as a part of a group)
____________________________________

SAFETY NEEDS
(Personal and psychological)
________________________________________________

PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS
(Food, shelter, water, warmth)

© 2011 Brooks/Cole, A


Child Development
• Physical
• Cognitive
• Social

© 2011 Brooks/Cole, A


Brain development
• Structure of the brain
• Processes of the brain
• Implications for counseling

© 2011 Brooks/Cole, A


Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive
Development
Stage

Type of Development

Age

Infancy

Sensorimotor

0-2

Childhood
Pre-Adolescence
Adolescence
through

Adulthood

(learns through senses)

Preoperational
(egocentric thinking)

Concrete
(need concrete aids for learning)

Formal
(are capable of abstract thought)

© 2011 Brooks/Cole, A

2-7
7-11
11+


Erikson’s Stages of Social
Development
STAGE I: BIRTH TO AGE 1 1/2
• Basic Trust versus Basic Mistrust
STAGE II: AGES 1 1/2 to 3
• Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt
STAGE III: AGES 3 to 6
• Initiative versus Guilt
STAGE IV: AGES 6 to 12
• Industry versus Inferiority

STAGE V: AGES 12 to 18
• Identity versus Role Confusion
STAGES VI, VII, and VIII
• Adult Stages

© 2011 Brooks/Cole, A


Developmental Perspectives
Approximate
Age

Normal Achievements

Common Behavior
Problems

0-2

Eating, sleeping,
attachment

Stubbornness, temper,
toileting difficulties

Mental retardation, feeding
disorders, autistic
spectrum disorders

2-5

Language, toileting, selfcare skills, self-control,
peer relationships

Arguing, demanding
attention, disobedience,
fears, overactivity, resisting
bedtime

Speech and language
disorders, problems
stemming from child abuse
and neglect, some anxiety
disorders such as phobias

6-11

Academic skills and rules,
rule-governed games,
simple responsibilities

Arguing, inability to
ADHD, learning disorders.
concentrate, selfSchool refusal behavior,
consciousness, showing off conduct problems

12-20

Relations with opposite
sex, personal identity,

separation from family,
increased responsibilities

Arguing, bragging

Clinical Disorders

Anorexia, bulimia,
delinquency, suicide
attempts, drug and alcohol
abuse, schizophrenia,
depression

From Abnormal child psychology (4th Ed.), (p. 34), by E. J. Marsh and D. A. Wolfe, (2010), Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Copyright 2010 by Wadsworth Publishing. Reprinted with permission

© 2011 Brooks/Cole, A


Culture
(Culture is) a way of life of the totality of the
individual artifacts, behaviors, and mental
concepts transmitted from one generation to
the next in a society. It is visible and invisible,
cognitive and affective, conscious and
unconscious, internal and external, rational
and irrational, and coercive and permissive at
the same time…..generally out of sight and
out of mind….People take it for granted
(Vontress, 1995)
© 2011 Brooks/Cole, A

Challenges
According to Baruth and Manning these are
challenges:
• Communication difficulties
• Misunderstanding the culture and the impact of
the culture on the process of counseling
• Mistaken assumptions about cultural assimilation
• Different social class values and orientations
• Stereotypical generalizations
• An assumption of cultural bias
• Inability to understand the worldview of the client
© 2011 Brooks/Cole, A


Cautions
Pederson also includes:
• Diagnoses differ across cultures
• Cultural beliefs influence diagnosis and treatment
• Clients express symptoms differently across
cultures
• Diagnosis may vary according to categories found
most often in the majority population
• Most counselors are members of the majority
population, whereas most clients are members of
the minority
© 2011 Brooks/Cole, A

Training to be Culturally
Competent
• Increase awareness of culturally
learned attitudes, beliefs, and values.
• Knowledge of culturally relevant facts.
• Develop skills for interventions that are
culturally appropriate.

© 2011 Brooks/Cole, A


Cultural Competence:
Awareness

© 2011 Brooks/Cole, A


Cultural Competence:
Knowledge
Knowledge: Cultural context of behavior
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

Social class
Gender
Ethnicity
Race
Religion
Language
Age
Exceptionalities
Worldview
Ethnic identity development
Acculturation
© 2011 Brooks/Cole, A


Common Factors of
Effectiveness
• Positive, trusting, therapeutic relationship.
• Shared worldview or a common framework from
which the counselor and the client can work together.
• Client’s positive expectation that counseling will be
helpful.
• Rituals or interventions that are effective techniques
that both the counselor and the client believe will
lead to positive outcomes.
Fischer, Jome and Atkinson

© 2011 Brooks/Cole, A

Cultural Competence: Skills
Must acknowledge the reality of the
cultural influences
• Recognize differences as differences, not as
deficiencies
• Avoid stereotyping and an ethnocentric
perspective

© 2011 Brooks/Cole, A


Cultural Competence: Skills
Differences among cultures:
• Boundaries and physical space
• Emotional boundaries
• Kinship terms
• Hierarchy of needs
• Trust issues
Kincade and Evans

© 2011 Brooks/Cole, A


Cultural Competence: Skills
Suggested Guidelines:

• Make no assumptions—gather information and reevaluate personal biases often;
• Learn about the client’s culture from sources other
than the client;

• Admit ignorance about the culture—be willing to ask
questions and to learn;
• Look for similarities in order to connect—find common
ground to share;
• Be sensitive to client expectations and needs—
together define counseling.
© 2011 Brooks/Cole, A


Children’s Ethnic Identity
Development
• Ethnic self-identification
• Ethnic constancy
• Ethnic role behavior
• Ethnic knowledge
• Ethnic feelings and preferences
Bernal, Knight, Garza, Ocampo, and Cota

© 2011 Brooks/Cole, A


African American Children
Locke suggested that the counselor should:
•encourage young people to talk about themselves,
their families and their experiences
•focus on strengths
•ask about social class status rather than making
assumptions
•ask for descriptions of holiday celebrations, kinship
networks, and the role of religion in their lives

•solicit their concerns, and consider using music and
dance as areas of special interest.
© 2011 Brooks/Cole, A


American Indian and Alaskan
Native Children
Knowledge of and respect for the
Native American worldview is essential,
with special attention given to the
social contexts and roles that helpers
play, because an individual’s problem
is seen as a problem of the community.

© 2011 Brooks/Cole, A


American Indian and Alaskan
Native Children
Herring recommended that the counselor:

•sensitively and openly address issues of ethnic
dissimilarity
•take into consideration ethnic identity and the degree of
acculturation of the young person
•consider having open-ended sessions free from time
constraints
•include family members and tribal elders or have
sessions in the home
•consider the use of art, dance, music, storytelling, story

reading, puppetry and games
•and include natural healing practices
© 2011 Brooks/Cole, A


Asian American Children
Counselors should:

• recognize the difficulty in self-disclosure and the meaning of
restraint as an attribute of emotional maturity
• recognize that an individual’s problems may be seen as
shaming the family
• keep questions relevant to the problem and avoid asking too
many personal questions
• minimize confrontation
• keep the focus on present time and on resolutions
• learn common concerns of Asian-American children
• ask about the culture
• and work to gain an understanding of nonverbal
communication.

© 2011 Brooks/Cole, A


Latino/a Children
Gloria and Rodriguez list the following questions to
use with Latino clients:
• How do you identify yourself?

• What does that word mean to you?

• How hard has it been to maintain your cultural values?
• What is your primary language?
• Who are your friends?
• What holidays and traditions do you celebrate?
• What does your family expect of you?
• Who helps you at home?

© 2011 Brooks/Cole, A