Monthly Archives: June 2020

For such a time as this: A plan of action for moving forward

By Esther Scott June 30, 2020

[Editor’s note: This is the fourth article in a series on action plans for different areas of life during the COVID-19 pandemic.]

During this period of physical distancing, a new norm of limiting touch was created. Although touches are often few and brief in American culture compared with other cultures, these brief touches contribute greatly to our emotional well-being. Many have missed the small touches of friends and family that connected them at a deeper level, or the social courtesy of a handshake during introductions.

Social distancing, although necessary, has been a big challenge. But after a period of quarantine and isolation from friends and family, perhaps a bigger challenge will be returning to normal interactions of touching one another without fear and anxiety. There are mixed emotions involved. Some people are feeling relief and gratitude as restrictions are gradually loosened, while others are experiencing frustration with the “new norm” or are fearful that others could still infect them with the virus.

Whichever side you come out on, it is important to remember that touch creates a human bond that is particularly necessary for building a healthy, more connected community. Studies show that we need to touch and be touched. Human touch is vital for well-being. It leads to the release of oxytocin, also called the “love hormone,” which helps regulate your fight-or-flight system and calms your body in times of stress.

Studies also show that lack of touch can be harmful to health. In experiments with monkeys, researcher Harry Harlow demonstrated that young monkeys deprived of touch did not grow and develop normally. We must now work at getting back to where we can touch each other without anxiety or doubt.

In the meantime, learning to express warmth and affection through words will help us move forward. Here is a plan of action for that.

Images from the United Nations COVID-19 Response page at unsplash.com

1) Focus on the future.

Every storm passes. And this too shall pass. After a period of quarantine or isolation, you may feel emotions that include relief and gratitude, or even feelings of personal growth and increased spirituality. Just as fear was once spread, hope and security can be transmitted socially too.

Looking at crises as opportunities to rethink and reorganize our priorities will prove beneficial. Crises bring opportunities for improvements that are not always possible in other conditions. The analogy of a diamond may apply here. The beauty of the diamond comes about from the extreme experience of pressure and heat. The same is true for us. We will emerge stronger from this situation and the complex challenges we have faced and are still facing. Let’s focus on a future that is filled with hope.

2) Prioritize your mental health and be flexible.

Things may get worse before they get better, but we are still here. Human beings have great capacity for adapting in times of suffering.

Prioritizing your mental health can be one of the best steps you can take at this time. For many, this will mean continuing to see their therapists or booking online sessions to talk through things and being intentional about practicing self-care.

Feeling anxious as we reintegrate as a society will be normal, but if you experience symptoms of extreme stress such as constant sleep problems or an increase in alcohol or drug use, a visit to your health care provider or mental health professional can make a positive difference. Mental health is essential to everyone’s overall health and well-being, especially during difficult times. Focus your attention on your strengths and abilities, and imagine yourself coping and adapting successfully.

Flexibility is adaptive. It is imperative that we build a foundation of healthy coping and stay connected to our values and to one another. Gratitude is a good first step toward opening the door to flexibility. In fact, the more you practice gratitude, the better your brain gets at recognizing positive things.

Start by thinking about one thing or person for which you are grateful. Focus on the feelings that arise, and hold them in your heart. Know that you can return to that thought of appreciation anytime as you move forward.

3) Be optimistic and resilient.

Optimism is the tendency to see and judge things in their most positive or favorable outcome. Resilience is our ability to overcome difficult circumstances and grow in the face of adversity. These qualities will be key in our efforts to recover. When we are anxious, we tend to overestimate and exaggerate the impact of a negative event and underestimate our chances of recovery. Resiliency gives us a realistic balance.

The ability to handle adversity will be another critical component to our success moving forward. Even if you or someone you love has been diagnosed with the coronavirus, maintaining an optimistic attitude is essential to supporting recovery. Being optimistic will help you make your thoughts and emotions much more positive, which in turn gives your immune system a boost.

The experience of the coronavirus does not have to become a traumatic and overwhelming experience that marks us for life. On the contrary, it can be an excellent opportunity to exercise our resilience — that is, to grow in the face of adversity.

Religious individuals involved in tragic circumstances often report finding peace, hope and even increased faith in the midst of the experience. Consequently, they tend to report high satisfaction in their lives. “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed … Struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:9).

We can all benefit from this kind of optimism. Therefore, let us start filling our world with music and songs of hope in preparation for the great celebration that awaits us. We will meet again. We will celebrate again. Let’s get started.

 

 

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Esther Scott, LPC

Esther Scott is a licensed professional counselor in Arlington, Texas. She is a solution-focused therapist. Her specialties include grief, depression, teaching coping skills and couples counseling. Contact her through her website at positiveactionsinternational.com.

 

 

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Opinions expressed and statements made in articles appearing on CT Online should not be assumed to represent the opinions of the editors or policies of the American Counseling Association.

Counselor participates in White House conference call, task force

Compiled by Bethany Bray June 26, 2020

American Counseling Association member Laura Shannonhouse added a professional counselor’s voice to two recent events organized by the White House.

Shannonhouse, an assistant professor in the Counseling and Psychological Services department at Georgia State University, is part of a cohort of researchers working on a grant-funded project on suicide and aging adults. A recent conference call brought this issue to the attention of some of the highest leaders in the country. In April, Shannonhouse participated in a call on COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on mental health that included U.S. President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and other senior administration officials as well as leaders from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Earlier, Shannonhouse also traveled to Washington D.C. to participate in the White House Summit on Transforming Mental Health Treatment to Combat Homelessness, Violence, and Substance Abuse, held in December 2019.

In addition to Shannonhouse, the grant team includes ACA members Mary Chase Mize, Matthew Fullen and Casey Barrio-Minton. Funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Community Living (ACL), the project focuses on training home-delivered meals workers in suicide intervention and mental health basics.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suicide is the 10th-leading cause of death in the United States. For many age groups, however, it ranks much higher, including as the eighth-leading cause of death among those ages 55-64.

ACA Member Laura Shannonhouse participated in the White House Summit on Transforming Mental Health Treatment to Combat Homelessness, Violence, and Substance Abuse in December 2019. Photo via Georgia State University.

Q+A: CT Online sent Shannonhouse, Mize, Fullen and Barrio-Minton some questions via email, to learn more about the White House events, their grant work and related issues.

What do you hope comes out of the White House task force meeting and conference call?

These meetings were convened with the purpose of creating awareness about key mental health issues, sharing information about innovative practices and connecting with national leaders who are charged with addressing many of these issues from a federal perspective. In light of these meetings, we hope that federal programs and policies will prioritize the mental health of Americans of all ages. By attending on behalf of our federal grant, we hope to raise awareness about suicide risk among older adults, as well as the Medicare mental health coverage gap that interferes with many of these people from accessing care.

From your perspective, what do our government leaders need to know. What are the needs right now?

There are many pressing issues that affect the mental health of Americans. One such issue is the lack of access to licensed professional counselors (LPCs) for Medicare recipients. Regulations governing which mental health providers are reimbursed through Medicare were last updated in 1989. Since that time, the mental health marketplace has changed dramatically. Current Medicare policy is not aligned with the realities of mental health practice in 2020.

For example, when we reviewed the Psychology Today provider database, a popular tool for locating mental health providers, only 12.49% of providers in this database accepted Medicare. This means that 60 million Medicare recipients are left without access to a significant number of eligible providers, including LPCs.

How has your grant work on suicide prevention for older adults changed with the COVID-19 pandemic?

We have several partnerships with local agencies dedicated to meeting the needs of older adults. Due to the pandemic, many of these agencies are having to reconfigure entire programs to ensure that physical distancing measures are enacted. This means that many programs that previously met in person have to shift rapidly.

Even the best efforts to do this have, unfortunately, resulted in greater social isolation and loneliness among older adults. Our team is hoping to collect data on how the pandemic is impacting vulnerable older adults who rely on home-delivered meals programs. We want to illuminate how to best address socialization needs while nutrition needs are also met.

Looking ahead, what do you see as long-term needs in this realm, as the pandemic continues?

As the pandemic continues we anticipate that social isolation and loneliness will become increasingly greater issues, especially for older adults. In a recent study by the John A. Hartford Foundation and the SCAN Foundation, 83% of adults ages 70 and older stated that they were prepared to self-isolate for several months. Notably, after only one month of self-isolation, 33% reported increased feelings of loneliness since the pandemic became widespread. Therefore, efforts to connect with this population and ensure that their mental health needs are addressed is vitally important.

Tell us more about the connection between your work and the need for Medicare reimbursement for LPCs.

Our work focuses on identifying and assisting older adults who may be experiencing psychological distress or suicide risk. A major question, then, is what happens after they are identified and referred for counseling and other mental health services? The vast majority of these older adults use Medicare to access the health care system, including mental health, and as the counseling profession knows all too well, counselors are not currently eligible to be reimbursed through the Medicare program, something we have been calling the Medicare mental health coverage gap (MMHCG).

Although this is an issue that the majority of practicing counselors have experienced firsthand, most aging and health care advocates are not aware that it is a problem. They are generally aware of the behavioral health needs of older adults, but not aware that the exclusion of LPCs makes it more difficult to address these needs.

What are some challenges and bright spots that you would want counselors to know about the Medicare issue?

There has been a great deal of progress made in regard to Medicare advocacy for counselors. When lawmakers, federal agency leaders and the public hear about the outdated Medicare mental health provider policy, they are largely sympathetic and want to determine how they can help.

For example, there are two congressional bills that focus on adding LPCs to Medicare. These are both bipartisan bills with a high degree of support. House Bill 945 has 116 co-sponsors and Senate Bill 286 has 31 co-sponsors, and both of these numbers represent forward movement (Find out more from the American Counseling Association Government Affairs team at counseling.org/government-affairs).

In January of this year, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS; part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) determined that LPCs are viewed as Medicare-eligible when they provide services within opioid treatment programs. This represented a major victory.

Then, in early May of this year, CMS made a similar determination within rural health centers/federally qualified health centers, as long as counselors are working in a manner that is consistent with their scope of practice. ACA and other members of the Medicare Mental Health Workforce Coalition are now advocating that LPCs be included in any future COVID-19 stimulus bills that Congress considers. These are all exciting developments that reflect years of hard advocacy work.

What do you suggest counselors who are passionate about these issues do to get involved and/or advocate?

COVID-19 has outsized effects on older adults, which means that our collective response to what our “new normal” looks like must be done with their needs in mind. What makes this pandemic particularly insidious is the way that physical distancing elevates health risks associated with social isolation and loneliness.

Local agencies that focus on aging are keenly aware of this, but may not have the infrastructure in place to fully address older adults’ mental health needs. Counselors should consider the many ways that their gifts can be invested in community efforts to keep older adults connected. At the local level, this might look like working alongside other colleagues to pool some pro bono hours that could be donated to your local area agency on aging so tele-counseling can be shared with at-risk older adults.

At the national level, it means responding to Medicare advocacy alerts so that policies can be modernized to address older adults’ mental health needs.

Whether you are a full-time counselor, student or counselor educator, making a difference also means combating ageism whenever it creeps up, whether it occurs in conversations with friends or family, on social media, or within healthcare or counseling professions. By asserting that older adults are every bit as deserving of mental health services as people of other ages, members of the counseling profession combat ageism, strengthen the case for Medicare reimbursement and improve the lives of socially isolated older adults. 

 

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Learn more:

  • Matthew Fullen participated in ACA’s recent Government Affairs and Public Policy Town Hall, and spoke about the Medicare issue: youtube.com/watch?v=liXnCVlGomM

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Follow Counseling Today on Twitter @ACA_CTonline and on Facebook at facebook.com/CounselingToday.

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Opinions expressed and statements made in articles appearing on CT Online should not be assumed to represent the opinions of the editors or policies of the American Counseling Association.

A quest for identity and connection

By Laurie Meyers June 25, 2020

“In some ways, the ‘one-drop rule’ still exists in the minds of society,” says Derrick Paladino, a licensed mental health counselor and professor of counseling at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. “I will always be brown to others, and not white and Puerto Rican, upon first look. Along with that comes people’s immediate perceptions of me based solely on phenotype.”

American society’s understanding of race and ethnicity is still based primarily on skin color. Although cultural identity is composed of myriad factors such as shared tradition, language, religion and familial connections, for people who come from varied ethnicities and diverse communities, racism too often resides in the foreground.

The unbearable whiteness of being

“I really hated being brown, as it was not seen as positive in my youth in that community,” says Paladino, who grew up in a predominantly white neighborhood in Connecticut. At a young age, he began adding a special prayer to his nightly Hail Marys and Our Fathers.

“I asked God if I could be white like my dad [who was Italian American] when I woke up in the morning,” recalls Paladino, an American Counseling Association member who helped develop the Competencies for Counseling the Multiracial Population as part of ACA’s Multiracial/Ethnic Counseling Concerns Interest Network. “Each morning, I would walk into our hallway and look at this wooden, ornate — fake gold — mirror and stare with disappointment. I have a picture of that mirror, and it is a reminder of that struggle.”

From a young age, Paladino also received a “brown is bad” message from his paternal grandfather, an unrepentant racist who disapproved of the marriage of Paladino’s parents and was hostile and disrespectful to his mother, who was Puerto Rican. When Paladino was born, his grandfather asked his mother “if the baby was black,” Paladino says.

“I also always felt like my grandfather favored my brother because he had light skin,” Paladino adds.

Paladino’s mother also managed to convey a “brown is bad” message by making him wear an undershirt whenever he went to the public pool so that he “wouldn’t get so dark.”

Paladino believes his mother probably downplayed his heritage as a person of color because she thought it would protect him, but the approach instead contributed to his self-stigmatization. Paladino’s parents never talked to him about being biracial and how that might affect the way others in the community viewed him.

Colorism is also a problem within the Latinx community. Being of European descent is still prized, despite the reality that most Latinx people are multiracial, says ACA member Carlos P. Hipolito-Delgado, an associate professor of counseling at the University of Colorado Denver who researches the ethnic identity development of Chicanas/os and Latinas/os and the effects of internalized racism on students of color.

Those in the community who are of Afro-Latinx descent experience the most stigma — often considered too dark to be Latinx but not African enough to be African American, Hipolito-Delgado explains. “They have nowhere to turn, no cultural support,” he says.

Sometimes belonging isn’t about color and the perception of race but other cultural signifiers. As an undergraduate, Paladino attended the University of Florida, where he at last encountered numerous fellow students who looked like he did. He enthusiastically joined a Latino student group on campus, only to find out that because he didn’t speak Spanish or have specific shared experiences, he was “not Latino enough.”

That experience — of being part of different worlds but not quite belonging in either — is not uncommon for individuals with biracial and multiracial backgrounds. After all, we still live in a society that largely equates identity with placing a check mark in one of a few racial “boxes.” Multiracial people are often relegated to “other” in such instances, but rather than choosing to shade squares, they are creating their own categories out of the cultural elements with which they resonate.

Pieces of the cultural mosaic

Hipolito-Delgado recommends that individuals with multiracial backgrounds learn as much about their culture and history as they can. “Think about what is meaningful to you and speaks to you, not what the media says,” he asserts. He explains that in his time as a college professor, he has seen many first-generation or immigrant Africans seize upon a stereotypical image of what it means to be African American, including dressing like rappers and listening exclusively to hip-hop, even when those weren’t things they particularly enjoyed. “It wasn’t necessarily a piece of them,” he says.

Hipolito-Delgado urges multiracial individuals to go and experience pieces and parts of their heritage to find what feels authentic to them. “Don’t feel like you need to do X, Y or Z,” he says. “Start by looking back at your family. … What is your story? What is your experience? What spoke to you?” 

“Ask yourself what has affirmed me so far and made me feel happy. Like when my mom makes tamales at Christmas,” Hipolito-Delgado says. He notes that his mother recently threatened to skip making tamales this year, but a united family rebellion — centered on the necessity of a significant, shared cultural experience — quashed that notion.

Hipolito-Delgado acknowledges that the search can be difficult, and it can help for biracial and multiracial individuals to have a guide. However, this may require showing up at a community group meeting where acceptance is not readily given. A first visit might be met by stares and people saying that the individual doesn’t belong there, but Hipolito-Delgado urges those who genuinely want to learn about that piece of their culture to keep trying. By the third or fourth time, the group’s members will typically realize that the individual is authentic. Being greeted initially with hostility can be disconcerting, but it is also understandable. As Hipolito-Delgado explains, people of color often have a legitimate fear of the outsider based on a long history of people coming in and appropriating their traditions.

Paladino sought community through social groups and individual friends but says his sense of cultural identity didn’t really begin to solidify until he was in his master’s program, also at the University of Florida. That’s when, through his multicultural counseling class, he started gaining a deeper understanding of the meaning and experience of being biracial.

In college, Paladino’s sense of self shifted, as is true for most students of all backgrounds. “I have found that community is very important for college students and in my personal life,” he says. “In some ways, our sense of self is connected to who we decide to surround ourselves with. College students run in many social circles — mini-communities — and depending on their level of perceived connection, they will fall within a continuum of feeling completely connected to feeling completely alienated. … Students experience a strong sense of self when they can be fully congruent and genuine in other spaces, thus not shifting who they are in order to feel connected.”

For many people with multiracial backgrounds, this is hard to achieve during the college years and throughout life in general, Paladino says. Struggling with one’s identity can create a feeling of balancing on a fence between worlds — an act that requires significant energy, he says.

When that feeling of not belonging runs deep and lasts a long time, it can have a profound effect on a person’s mental health, eliciting symptoms of depression and anxiety, low-self-esteem, low self-efficacy and harmful coping mechanisms, Paladino explains. In other words, “It’s not good to be siloed from society,” he says.

However, Paladino cautions counselors not to assume that all clients with multiracial backgrounds need or want to talk about their racial, cultural and ethnic identities in counseling. “Counselors would be wise to notice it on the intake and ask if the client sees that as a part of their work. If the client says no, then we should honor and respect that,” he says. “It may eventually become part of therapy, as identity usually is at some level, but we don’t push that. Looking back on the history surrounding anti-miscegenation, the limitations of the census, the one-drop rule, and the continuation of parts of society disapproving of interracial unions, much power and voice have been taken away from this population. The last thing a counselor wants to do is continue this.” 

Paladino urges counselors to educate themselves about the multiracial population by reading personal histories, reviewing both ACA’s Competencies for Counseling the Multiracial Population and the Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies (see counseling.org/knowledge-center/competencies), and learning more about multiracial and interracial organizations.

“There is a lot of information out there, and it continues to increase,” he says. “If you are working in college counseling, check to see if there is a student cultural organization that matches what the student would like in a community. If the client wants to work on discovering their identity, having them interview family they feel safe with or researching the population on their own can be very helpful.”

Paladino emphasizes that the issues the multiracial population struggles with can be as diverse as the people themselves. Although there is no one-size-fits-all approach for working with multiracial clients, he recommends some tools that may assist in their exploration of identity, including:

  • Using an ecological framework such as an ecomap
  • Providing psychoeducation
  • Using bibliotherapy
  • Introducing Maria P. P. Root’s “A Bill of Rights for Racially Mixed People”
  • Guiding a free expression of emotions attached to lived experiences

Paladino encourages counselors to enable clients to identify in whatever way they desire — e.g., by only one race, culture or ethnicity; as biracial, multiracial or mixed race; as multiple heritage, multiethnic, bicultural, hapa or mestizo — by including the full range of choices on intake forms.

“Don’t expect them to want to write it under ‘other,’” he emphasizes. After all, too many of these clients have been “othered” their entire lives.

Counseling multiracial couples

Melody Li is a licensed marriage and family therapist from Austin, Texas, whose practice specialties include counseling multiracial couples. Her approach is centered on social justice and creating a place to understand the oppression that has made it harder for clients to thrive individually and as a couple. Li believes this is essential for helping to establish client confidence and trust in the therapeutic relationship, but it is also a practical necessity because life doesn’t happen in a vacuum.

For example, the coronavirus pandemic is disproportionately affecting people of color, Li notes. Asian communities are experiencing violence, immigrant businesses are being lost, one or two family members are trying to support extended family and friend communities, and the deaths of brown and black people are being swept under the rug, she emphasizes. If one partner in a couple minimizes the other’s racial struggles or how their family is handling the crisis, this can leave that partner feeling isolated and alone in their grief.

What is particularly difficult about the pandemic is the way it has disrupted everything, putting plans and goals on hold (if not derailing them permanently) and leaving many things outside of people’s control, Li says. In addition, there is a systemic pattern in which marginalized communities often get hit first and hardest when disasters strike.

In collectivist cultures, the response to individual tragedy is shared by the community, Li points out. Some of the couples she counsels are currently trying to get pregnant or have recently endured miscarriages while simultaneously providing financial support to multiple family members who have lost their jobs or businesses and access to health care. “They [the couples] are going through disappointment and grief. Having that added [sense of responsibility] is hard, heavy,” Li explains. “Without that understanding of collectivism, [one partner] might say, ‘Why is this on you? We’re all having problems.’”

But for the other partner, collectivism is a part of their cultural and personal strength. So, Li will work together with the couple to come to an understanding and, ultimately, a compromise. She guides the partner making the request through the steps of nonviolent communication: Make an observation, state how the observed situation is making them feel, state what they need to address the emotional reaction, and make a request.

For example, the partner might say, “When my family asks for support and you describe them as overbearing or too demanding, it makes me feel small and misunderstood. I feel like you don’t understand my culture and our strengths, and I need that validation from you. Would you be willing to learn more about our family dynamics and what that closeness is about?”

The other partner may acknowledge and respect the tradition behind the request but still have concerns. So, that partner might say, “I understand and want to help you honor your desire to do all that you can to support your family, but I feel that taking on the responsibility for everyone’s needs will be emotionally and financially overwhelming. Is there a way that we can provide some of the needed resources and perhaps help locate other sources of assistance?”

Ramadan also occurred recently and, as was the case with other religious observances such as Passover and Easter, the performing of traditional rituals was challenging under quarantine conditions. As Li observes, “One partner might say, ‘What is the big deal about fasting and having to see family right now? We are in crisis. … This is not a big deal. Why don’t you just skip it this year?’”

Li notes that such minimization on the part of one member of a multiracial couple is hurtful to the other. She would help the partner develop a more respectful message, such as, “I know this is important to you and your people and family. I understand the significance, and I want to incorporate as much [tradition] as possible. How do we minimize risk while honoring the rituals?”

Transracial adoption

“Adoption is really complicated. It’s not a win-win situation,” says Amanda Baden, an ACA member who specializes in working with transracial adoptees and their families. “Adoptions have gains and losses; you don’t just get one without the other.”

These dynamics can be particularly fraught in transracial adoptions, which makes it especially important that adoptive parents not hold what Baden calls “antiquated notions of adoption,” such as the chosen child or rescue narrative. “The chosen child narrative ignores that to be chosen, they [children] have to be released,” she says. Some adoptive parents from Western countries may also view international adoption as a “rescue,” without considering the child’s loss of ethnic or biological ties.

Baden, a counseling psychologist who is herself a transracial adoptee, is not condemning such adoptions. However, she says, it becomes problematic when families don’t see the need to expose these children to their birth culture. Some families also fail to consider how the rest of the world perceives their transracial child.

Baden, whose practice is in New York City, sees a lot of adopted children and adolescents who struggle with being Asian but feeling white, although the world clearly does not view them that way. The adoption is obvious — an Asian child with two white parents — so these kids often get asked questions such as, “Who is your real mom?” Baden says. When the family goes out to places such as restaurants, the transracial child may inadvertently not be seated because they aren’t immediately recognized as belonging, particularly if they have a white sibling. Adoptive families often minimize these incidents, which creates tension, Baden says. 

As transracial children grow older and become more aware of how their experiences diverge from those of their adoptive families, they start to realize that, yes, they are a person of color, and this is something their parents have never really understood, Baden says. That is part of why having a connection to their birth culture can be so important, she adds. Adoptive parents want to believe that if they love their children and give them everything they need, that should be enough — but they have never experienced racism themselves, Baden explains. 

Baden was adopted before there was much awareness of the importance of establishing a connection to a transracial adoptee’s birth culture, but she says her parents did make an effort. “In my high school of approximately 550 students, I think there were three Asian kids, including me. … My parents tried to make friends, but there were not many Asian people [in their area],” she says. “We did talk about race, which was one of the best things they did.” Baden says her parents never tried to pretend that she wasn’t experiencing racism and never told her that she just had to “deal with it.” In addition, they always reassured her that the incidents were not her fault.

Ultimately, Baden says, her parents could have moved to a more integrated neighborhood, which is what she mentions to parents who are interested in adopting transracial children.

Baden also tells parents to begin talking to their children from the start about racism and how to handle it so they will be prepared the first time they encounter it. “Parents want to believe it is not going to happen, but it is,” she says. “Talk about racism not being about them [the child]; it’s about the other person.”

In fact, Baden advises parents of transracial adoptees to get really comfortable talking about race. This is something that many white parents can struggle to do without personalizing it or feeling attacked.

“A lot of people think racism is just about violence, but it is a system,” Baden says, noting that policies can be racist. It’s not that everyone who is white is racist but rather that the system benefits whiteness, Baden continues. One way of explaining systemic racism to children might be to say that sometimes groups of people in charge will treat them differently because of the way they look. However, this happens not because there is something wrong with them (the children), but because the people in charge think it’s OK to not treat everyone fairly.

“One of the things I really worry about is that because it [transracial adoption] has become more common, the bar has maybe been lowered for parents,” Baden says. Many adoptive parents want to think of themselves as being colorblind and assume the majority of the world will be that way too. She advises parents to not even think about adopting a child from a race they know nothing about, and if they already have, she strongly suggests they go out and meet others from their child’s birth culture. 

“What am I supposed to do?” clients ask Baden. “Go to a black church and say, ‘Hi, my name is so and so, I want to be your friend?’”

“Yes,” Baden responds. “That’s what you are asking your kid to do every day.”

Baden also works with adult transracial adoptees who are deciding how they would like to connect with their birth culture. Some people want to immerse themselves, whereas others just want to gain a little bit of knowledge. She encourages people to connect with adoptee groups.

Baden also helps clients learn more about the different aspects of their birth culture, with an emphasis on how family structures and expectations are often very different. Adoptees also need to consider how their experiences growing up in the white world set them apart from those who were raised in their birth culture. “There’s an assumption that certain cultural values are universal, and they’re not,” Baden says.

 

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Additional resources

To learn more about the topics discussed in this article, take advantage of the following select resources offered by the American Counseling Association:

Counseling Today (ct.counseling.org)

Books (counseling.org/publications/bookstore)

  • Counseling for Multiculturalism and Social Justice: Integration, Theory, and Application, Fourth Edition, by Manivong J. Ratts and Paul B. Pedersen
  • Multicultural Issues in Counseling: New Approaches to Diversity, Fifth Edition, edited by Courtland C. Lee
  • Culturally Responsive Counseling With Latinas/os by Patricia Arredondo, Maritza Gallardo-Cooper, Edward A. Delgado-Romero and Angela L. Zapata

Continuing Professional Development: Multicultural (https://imis.counseling.org/store/catalog.aspx#category=multiculturalism-diversity)

  • “Addressing Clients’ Experiences of Racism: A Model for Clinical Practice” with Scott Schaefle and Krista M. Malott
  • “Counseling Refugees: Addressing Trauma, Stress and Resilience” with Rachael D. Goodman
  • “Multicultural Counseling With Immigrant and Refugee Communities” with Vivian V. Lee and Courtland C. Lee
  • “Affirmative Intakes: Creating Intentional, Inclusive Forms to Retain Diverse Clients” with Shannon M. Skaistis, Jennifer M. Cook, Dhanya Nair and Sydney C. Borden

Counseling competencies (counseling.org/knowledge-center/competencies)

  • Competencies for Counseling the Multiracial Population
  • Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies

Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development (multiculturalcounselingdevelopment.org)

 

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Laurie Meyers is a senior writer for Counseling Today. Contact her at lmeyers@counseling.org.

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Opinions expressed and statements made in articles appearing on CT Online should not be assumed to represent the opinions of the editors or policies of the American Counseling Association.

ACA anti-racism statement

June 22, 2020

 

After discussion and discernment, the ACA Governing Council has issued the following statement on anti-racism. The ACA leadership is listening to a cross section of members and volunteers in order to develop an action plan that will give life to this statement.

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ACA Anti-Racism Statement

Racism, police brutality, systemic violence, and the dehumanizing forces of oppression, powerlessness, and White supremacy have eroded the very fabric of humanity which ideally binds our society together. Macrolevel systemic racism extends to disparities in institutional policies and procedures in physical and mental healthcare, education, the judicial system, employment, sports and entertainment, and the brutal violence of law enforcement. These larger societal oppressions lead to inaccessibility to resources and social marginalization, which descend finally to individual racist attitudes, implicit biases, stereotypes, microaggressions, and even death. The ongoing and historical injustices are not acknowledged by those who want to be in power or protect their entitlements. Some who do acknowledge, do so reactively, temporarily, or superficially and thus, no meaningful change occurs. Anti-Black racism is often reframed as accidental, an unfortunate incident, or as the criminality of the victim.

Words cannot truly capture our feelings. We are angry, exhausted, grieving, suffering, furious, and in despair. The American Counseling Association is pained by the murders of George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, Michael Brown, and countless other Black/African Americans who unfortunately remain nameless. We stand in solidarity with our Black siblings in denouncing the historical legacy and destruction caused by institutionalized racism and violence against Black people, perpetuated at the hands of law enforcement, the hatred bred of White supremacy, the deafening silence of dehumanizing and complicit inaction to address these systemic ills within our society. As counselors, we listen, we empathize, and agree with protestors that when absolute justice is established, peace will follow. Enough is enough, we cannot continue to watch fellow Black Americans being murdered, as the very life force is suffocated out of them.

The American Counseling Association is built on enduring values and a mission that promotes: human dignity and diversity, respect, the attainment of a quality of life for all, empowerment, integrity, social justice advocacy, equity, and inclusion. If we remain silent, and do not promote racial justice, these words become harmful and meaningless for our members and the counseling community. Given the rapidly evolving double pandemic of COVID-19 and the continued exposure of Black people to institutionalized racism, ACA wants to be clear about where we stand and the ongoing actions we will take. As proactive leaders, counselors, mentors, supervisors, scholars, and trainers we will break away from this structure of racism trauma, and the violence born on the necks of Black people.

Our stance is: Black Lives Matter. We have a moral and professional obligation to deconstruct institutions which have historically been designed to benefit White America. These systems must be dismantled in order to level the playing field for Black communities. Allyship is not enough. We strive to create liberated spaces in the fight against White supremacy and the dehumanization of Black people. The burden of transgenerational trauma should not be shouldered by Black Americans even though they have remained resilient.

All ACA members must be willing to challenge these systems, but also confront one’s own biases, stereotypes, and racial worldview. Moving forward, our actions will be based on input from our members and the voices of others. We are committed to change.

 

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Learn more

ACA has compiled a number of resources focused on cultural competencies and combating racism: https://bit.ly/2BuNZ1Y

 

For such a time as this: Plan of action for young adults, adolescents and parents

By Esther Scott

[Editor’s note: This is the third of four articles in a series on action plans for different areas of life during the COVID-19 pandemic.]

To young adults, the risk of contracting the coronavirus or suffering a negative outcome may feel remote. Research studies show that when young people talk about risk reduction, they tend to be referring to reducing social or reputational risks. As a young adult, you may be in the same boat. While the individual risks of COVID-19 may seem low for young people, it is worth stating that becoming infectious could worsen the health and financial security of your community and make it much harder for you to find work, especially if you are just graduating.

Remembering that your youth and health give you “superhero” powers will help you take a more active role in this crisis to protect yourself and those you love. As the line from the Spider-Man comics and movies reminds us, “With great power comes great responsibility.” You have the power of good health, and it is your responsibility to help solve the problem by protecting yourself and others.

Here is a plan of action for young adults, adolescents and their parents.

 

1) Obtain reliable information.

A deep understanding of how people view risk is crucial to stopping the spread of disease. Gathering a similar understanding of COVID-19 can help young people to participate willingly instead of resenting authority. It is important that you see breaking physical distancing guidelines as being risky not only for yourself and those you love, but risky for your entire community.

The same is true when it comes to understanding your economic risks. Analysts believe that young workers and new grads may be hit harder because they tend to work in the food, retail and hospitality industries — places that are experiencing harsher impacts as consumers stay home more. Obtaining reliable information will help you navigate the expected upcoming changes.

2) Control peer pressure. Prioritize safety over reputation.

One obvious reason for the prioritization of social reputation over health risk is peer pressure and the need to fit in socially. In the wake of COVID-19, there were numerous stories in the media highlighting young people who continued to gather despite social distancing guidelines. There were also reports of young adults violating shelter-in-place and social distancing orders to meet lovers and potential hookups because they felt pressured by friends to do so.

One way to evade social pressure is to plan your response ahead of time. Hosting remote meetings and parties could be one such response. With the rise of social media, distant hangouts are trending.

 

Plan of action for students and adolescents

In this difficult situation, it is best to look at the positive side: We have unbelievably valuable time to spend at home. This unprecedented situation that we are experiencing affects everyone. Adolescents too can learn to manage what they can control so that they emerge from this stronger. We can use this crisis to help them grow as resilient, autonomous human beings. Here is plan of action that can help students and adolescents make the most of this situation.

1) Keep a structured routine — a time for everything.

It is particularly important to keep a predictable routine. Develop a schedule that includes activities such as family sports, reading books, and collaborating with the rest of the family. It is important that students, especially teenagers, spend time in productive physical activities. Go out and throw the ball, shoot some baskets, go for a walk around the block or simply do some jumping jacks.

2) Continue education by reading and writing.

Two other important activities for students and adolescents during this crisis are reading books and writing thoughts. This time at home is the perfect opportunity to dedicate yourself to reading books and stories that have been on the shelf for a while. If possible, we recommend reading together as a family, including reflecting on the content of the story or answering questions that come up after reading it.

Writing thoughts or a diary with the events of the day or a gratitude journal about things you enjoy will continue to help you put these circumstances in perspective. If you graduated from high school or college this year, consider staying in school to pursue the next level of education. It could help you land a higher-paying job in the future.

3) Get involved.

Participating in household chores and taking responsibility for “their things” (their room, their clothes, etc.) is especially motivating for older children and adolescents. Allowing them to collaborate in the kitchen by researching new recipes or cooking (especially when personal assistants such as Google Assistant and Alexa are available for recipes) can also help develop growth and autonomy.

There are various ways that students and adolescents can take their place in this moment in history and make this time more enjoyable. They can write letters to the older adults in their families or communities and show appreciation for health personnel by sending prayers to them and those who are sick. It is good for young people to develop a sense of belonging in their communities and to know that their actions make a difference.

 

Plan of action for parents

Sticking to a routine is essential to keep your sanity (just as it is for your children). Maintaining a schedule can be helpful in creating a bit of normalcy in this unexpected situation and in reducing your anxiety level because your brain will feel in control.

Be a team. Keep it balanced. If you have a partner, try alternating who is looking after the kids or making meals. But most importantly, communicate your needs to your team. Remember that flexibility is key in times of crisis. Be kind to yourself; you are doing the best you can.

Although we have yet to see the full extent of the economic slowdown induced by COVID-19, analysts currently expect that we will recover once the virus is under control. So, hold on.

 

 

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Esther Scott, LPC

Esther Scott is a licensed professional counselor in Arlington, Texas. She is a solution-focused therapist. Her specialties include grief, depression, teaching coping skills and couples counseling. Contact her through her website at positiveactionsinternational.com.

 

 

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Opinions expressed and statements made in articles appearing on CT Online should not be assumed to represent the opinions of the editors or policies of the American Counseling Association.