A study carried out in 2019 into grief counselling for ethnic minorities found the following areas as potential barriers for the Sikh ethnic minority to access counselling services, although the principles behind these barriers occurring could apply to many different ethnic minorities:
- Awareness barriers. There was a lack of awareness of the breadth of applications of psychotherapy and an association that accessing psychological services indicated an inability to function in society and within their community. Many considered seeking counselling to be a sign of weakness.
- Spiritual barriers. Based on the relationship between humanity and God in Sikhism, community members showed an acceptance of God’s will in accordance with their religion’s teachings in preference to expressing grief.
- Community barriers. Due to the cultural resilience and independence of Sikhs, individuals who might seek therapy may be concerned that community leaders or their peers might perceive it as a rejection of one’s fate and a departure from religious teachings.
- Authoritative approach. Therapy based on a directive approach was found to be most effective and non-directive therapeutic approach was felt to have little chance of being effective with members of this community. This was attributed to the almost universal respect for authority figures among members of the Sikh community, and the expectation that the authority figure would provide direction for them.
- Gender bias. Both male and female members requested same-sex therapists, which may arise from cultural and religious roots that have caused individuals to internalise gender roles.
- Language and dialect. Therapists connected more readily with an individual if the therapist spoke in the individual’s native language and in the dialect and tone particular to his/her place of origin. Immigrants usually experienced difficulty establishing rapport with non-Sikh therapists or therapists not fluent with their language.
- Confidentiality. Members of this community did not readily accept the idea of confidentiality, but equally were also distrustful of therapists’ assurances that conversations between them would remain confidential.
- Peer support and group cohesiveness. In this community, it was not uncommon for peers to render assistance to other individuals and families in the community affected by a tragedy.
Conclusion
Culture and religion play a significant role in both therapeutic intervention and outcome and effective therapists will need to consider the way in which each patient has been shaped by his or her cultural environment in devising a treatment strategy.
Patient gender, native language, and a directive versus non-directive approach must be considered on a case-by-case basis in interactions with members of any ethnic community to most effectively build rapport and provide meaningful counselling.
Reference:
- Singh S & Singh J (2019). Effective Psychotherapeutic Approaches to Treatment for Ethnic Minorities. International Journal of Psychology & Psychological Therapy, 19(2).
