Cultural Considerations in Counseling
Cultural Considerations
War is hard on anyone involved; however, it is especially hard on the children who are forced to live with it or in close proximity to it. Children typically lack the worldview to process the level of violence that occurs during war. The Nigerian children who were rescued from the refugee camp lived in extremely poor conditions and before arriving there were subjected to serious events that may change them forever. They are likely suffering from some severe psychological effects of war-time violence that need to be addressed in order to break the cycle of violence they may be in, but also to ensure their mental health both now and in the future. There are several aspects of psychological recovery that need to be addressed. First, it is important to understand the possible psychological effects of violence these children are experiencing. An intervention plan must be put in place to help mitigate the effects of this violence while also instilling the children with the resilience they need to begin living a 'normal ' life. Other important considerations in helping these displaced and traumatized children would be cultural sensitivity, making sure to integrate their own culture and religion into their new lives here, and any ethical considerations that need to be made during treatment and resilience training with regard to the children 's situation and their cultural background. Perhaps, out of all who witness the destruction and devastation of the violence that accompanies war, children may be the most affected. According to Smith (2001), there are many negative effects of witnessing war besides the already serious effect of being exposed to violence. Children lose important access to basic resources such as good food, clean water, shelter, school, and basic health care. Losses of these resources can seriously impede not only physical growth, but cognitive and emotional growth as well. Additionally, as is the case with many of
War is hard on anyone involved; however, it is especially hard on the children who are forced to live with it or in close proximity to it. Children typically lack the worldview to process the level of violence that occurs during war. The Nigerian children who were rescued from the refugee camp lived in extremely poor conditions and before arriving there were subjected to serious events that may change them forever. They are likely suffering from some severe psychological effects of war-time violence that need to be addressed in order to break the cycle of violence they may be in, but also to ensure their mental health both now and in the future. There are several aspects of psychological recovery that need to be addressed. First, it is important to understand the possible psychological effects of violence these children are experiencing. An intervention plan must be put in place to help mitigate the effects of this violence while also instilling the children with the resilience they need to begin living a 'normal ' life. Other important considerations in helping these displaced and traumatized children would be cultural sensitivity, making sure to integrate their own culture and religion into their new lives here, and any ethical considerations that need to be made during treatment and resilience training with regard to the children 's situation and their cultural background. Perhaps, out of all who witness the destruction and devastation of the violence that accompanies war, children may be the most affected. According to Smith (2001), there are many negative effects of witnessing war besides the already serious effect of being exposed to violence. Children lose important access to basic resources such as good food, clean water, shelter, school, and basic health care. Losses of these resources can seriously impede not only physical growth, but cognitive and emotional growth as well. Additionally, as is the case with many of
References: American Psychological Association. (2010). Ethics and principles of psychologists and code of conduct. Retrieved 17 November 2011 from http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx# Argosy University. (2011). Module 5 course notes. Retrieved 17 November 2011 from http://myeclassonline.com Condley, S.J. (2006). Resilience in children: a review of the literature with implications for education. Urban education, 41(3), 211-236. Retrieved 17 November 2011 from the EbscoHOST database. Culturegrams. (2011). Federal Republic of Nigeria. Retrieved 17 November 2011 from http://online.culturegrams.com.libproxy.edmc.edu/world/world_country_sections.php?contid=1&wmn=Africa&cid=115&cn=Nigeria&sname=Life_Cycle&snid=28 Feldman, R.S. (2010). Child development (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Machel, G. (1996). Impact of armed conflict on children. UNICEF. Retrieved 17 November 2011 from http://www.unicef.org/graca/a51-306_en.pdf Smith, D. (2001). Children in the heat of war. Monitor, 32(8), 29. Retrieved 17 November 2011 from http://www.apa.org/monitor/sep01/childwar.aspx Williams, R. (2007). The psychosocial consequences for children of mass violence, terrorism, and disasters. International Review of Psychiatry, 19 (3), 263-277. Retrieved 17 November 2011 from the ProQuest database.