A Non-Western Approach to Social Work

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Parents and legal guardians are meant to protect children, but some adults fail to ensure that youths under their care live a comfortable life. I intern at a courthouse and am a special advocate for minors aged five months to eighteen years old and placed in the foster care system. One of the cases I am involved in centers around a teenage boy who is a victim of child neglect and emotional abuse. The client has trouble communicating, especially when in a room with multiple people, so it is difficult for him to voice his problems. The usage of non-Western methods, such as Haitian spiritual practices, can assist the child in overcoming challenges and presenting his case better.

The underage client is challenged with expressing his position as a victim of neglect and abuse, and a non-Western approach can help him due to his cross-cultural heritage. The boys mother was a Haitian immigrant who passed away two years ago in a car accident, and his father is a white American citizen with a low income. After the death of his spouse, the father started drinking heavily, and, as reported by the familys neighbors, the child was often screamed at and left alone at home with no food. Consequently, the client has become quiet, he rarely talks and prefers to remain silent around strangers. The familys friends state that the boy grew up being quite attached to his mother, who tried to preserve her culture in the US, and that before her demise, he was an active, friendly individual. Therefore, it may be helpful to utilize Haitian practices that the client may associate with his mother to help his emotional well-being.

The primary goal of the presented situation is to assist the client in feeling better and voicing his position in court against his abusive father. The procedures are based on strengthening the child emotionally by utilizing his familiarity with his mothers culture and identifying relevant Haitian healing principles. Considering the clients cross-cultural background and resistance to American practices due to his white fathers behavior, the boy may perceive non-Western methods better. The most commonly used ways of psychologically helping someone have been generated by Western specialists based on the analysis of those living in Western-oriented environments (Hendriks et al., 2018). Consequently, many such methods may not be as useful for individuals from non-Western or cross-culture upbringings (Hendriks et al., 2018). Accordingly, helping improve the clients emotional well-being should not be concentrated solely on the principles that are appropriate for the majority of the US nation.

Furthermore, Western methods of research may not fully apply to the search for relevant Haitian traditional approaches. Therefore, it seemed pertinent to inform the client of the decision to utilize the healing principles from his mothers culture to aid him in feeling better and becoming more confident in voicing his experience. The childs initial response to the integration of Haitian practices was puzzled as he looked confused and did not apprehend the reason for such an approach. I told the client that I was looking for ways to help him overcome the emotions caused by neglect and abuse and asked him about his happiest memories of his mother. The boy was reluctant to answer at first, but with some words of encouragement opened up about his mothers personality. While he struggled to explain the details, it was clear that the clients mother was spiritual and followed Haitian Vodou. The child shared that whenever he was upset, his mother made him feel calmer by using Vodou beliefs, thus suggesting a course of action for the case.

Upon using the childs memory as the beginning for integrating the non-Western method, it was necessary to seek an empirical basis for the approach. Haitian Vodou is a unique religious tradition with a three-part conception of identity, one of which is lwa and can help an individual through spiritual possession (Auguste & Rasmussen, 2019). While such a practice is negatively perceived in the West, Vodou offers inner protection from problems (Auguste & Rasmussen, 2019). Vodou can supplement available treatment and shares some goals of Western emotional healing methods (Auguste & Rasmussen, 2019). Some people at my agency are Haitian, so I asked a lady who practices Vodou to consult my client, and she agreed to assist, but the boy was initially reluctant. However, the primary alignments were his understanding of his mothers cultural worldview and that the invited woman spoke in terms that the child knew from his mother. A current challenge is that addressing the clients troubles requires more than a single meeting. A solution that may help is scheduling regular Vodou sessions to remind the boy about his mother and how her culture used to help him better.

To conclude, the client is an underaged victim of wrongful behavior from his father and has trouble communicating with people but needs to voice his experience to confront his parent. It is important to appeal to the childs joyful memories of his diseased mother and integrate her cultural heritage to help him feel better and empowered. As suggested by the utilized above findings, the approach of using such practices as Vodou differs from Western ways but has similar goals. The method is anticipated to be helpful for the client, assuming he agrees to regular sessions with a Vodou healer. Notably, such a strategy may not be relevant to other children I advocate for, as they come from distinct backgrounds and their problems and goals vary. Searching for tactics to assist my client was significant for my professional development because it showed me that non-Western communities can present ways of helping others based on each cultures modes of coping with difficulties.

References

Auguste, E., & Rasmussen, A. (2019). Vodous role in Haitian mental health.Global Mental Health, 6, 1-6. Web.

Hendriks, T., Warren, M. A., Schotanus-Dijkstra, M., Hassankhan, A., Graafsma, T., Bohlmeijer, E., & de Jong, J. (2018). How WEIRD are positive psychology interventions? A bibliometric analysis of randomized controlled trials on the science of well-being.The Journal of Positive Psychology, 14(4), 489-501. Web.

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