Psychology assignment 2789

Due to the nature of this question, the first post will be due Thursday, 19 May 2016. The second post will still be due Saturday.  Various counseling sources state that religion and spirituality play an important role for African-Americans (Sue & Sue, 2012) and that a “strong spiritual base can enhance personal resilience” (Hines & Boyd-Franklin, 2005, p. 93). In addition, counselors should accept “spiritual forces as meaningful phenomena in the life realm and decision-making processes” for African-Americans (Toldson, 2008, p. 173). Considering the information from your text and other sources, imagine that an African-American male named Jay presents himself and shares with you that he has had various negative and disappointing experiences with the church he attends. He shares that he attends a prominent African-American church that has various outreach programs and strong community connections; however, Jay stated that he feels he’s been neglected by his church as none of the elders, deacons/deaconesses, or ministers have followed-up with him about problems he has shared with an elder or two about his past substance abuse. He struggles with the shame and guilt of past use and shared how he’s been disappointed that no one in the church seems to care. He shared how he feels more connected and more at home with his substance abuse support group that meets at the local county health department rather than his church. In addition, he mentions that he feels he’s been “bossed around” by an elder who oversees the ministry that Jay serves in. He’s seen this same elder and other elders exhibit similar behavior with being “bossy” or putting down someone’s suggestion in front of others. He also shared that he has wanted to meet with the pastor and has made several attempts to do so but either no one calls back or that the earliest available appointment is a few weeks out. With these and other experiences, he shares that he is struggling spiritually and feels like he’s having a “crisis of faith” regarding his personal relationship with Christ. (Crisis of faith can be defined as one having serious questions and/or doubts about faith but is not limited to this definition.) He reports still loving God but is questioning the meaning of his walk due to his church experiences. Because of these experiences, he feels the temptation to use again to relieve his distress. As a counselor working with Jay, what would youdo to address his presenting problem, and what areas might be important to consider when working with him? Would you incorporate aspects of your faith to help him address his crisis of faith, and if so, how? As you think about this question, think about what “categories” to which Jay may belong and include this as part of your response (no citations needed for the “categories” piece). In addition, as you answer the spiritual part of the question (“aspects of your faith”), keep in mind to answer in a way that does not impose upon Jay. References Hines, P. M., & Boyd-Franklin, N. (2005). African-American families. In M. McGoldrick, J. Giordano, & N. Garcia-Preto (Eds.), Ethnicity and family therapy (3rd ed.) (pp. 87-100). New York, NY: The Guilford Press. Sue, D. W., & Sue, D. (2012). Counseling the culturally diverse: Theory and practice (6th ed.). New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons. Toldson, I. A., (2008). Counseling persons of Black African ancestry. In P. B. Pedersen, J. G. Draguns, W. J. Lonner, & J. E. Trimble (Eds.), Counseling across cultures (6th ed.) (pp. 161-179). Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications. Although we are dealing with African-Americans/Blacks and spirituality issues as it relates to this week’s topic, I wanted to share a link that exemplify issues that can occur within the Black community. One of the reasons for this exposure is to help you see the “tension” that can exist at times not only between groups (e.g., different races) but also within the African-American community as well: This video (http://vimeo.com/24155797) shares information about with Black/African-American women and their looks. This is a common struggle among Black/African-American women regarding their identity about how they should look. I bring this to your attention as this is not only an issue among other races about comments made towards African-Americans but also even an issue within the Black community.

 

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