Flexibility in Seeking Solutions BSHS/345r1 Week Five 1

Flexibility in Seeking Solutions

BSHS/345r1 Week Five

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1. Stop Invidious Comparison

2. The Importance of Narratives

3. Supporting Refugees

4. Approaches for Immigrants

5. Optimizing Pregnant Mother’s Support

6. The Surprising Benefits of Providing Health Care

7. Strategies for Avoiding Vicarious Traumatization

8. References

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Stop Invidious Comparison

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Stop Invidious Comparison

• When you compare yourself to others, you can diminish them, yourself, or both. There will always be someone smarter, stronger, more attractive, thinner, wealthier or less capable, weaker, less attractive, heavier, and less wealthy.

• Validate your strengths and acknowledge others strengths. Value the beauty of differences.


The Importance of Narratives

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• Narratives encourage people to explore their stories that are influenced by cultural, societal, familial, political, and historical contexts.

• By exploring the scripts of your life, you can begin to reflect on new meanings when placed in context of the above influences.

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• Healing soul wounds: From an indigenous standpoint, individuals can be depressed and still have a relationship with their soul and the way their soul harmonizes with the universal life force (Duran, Firehammer, & Gonzalez, 2008, p. 293).

• Creating new narratives helps address the spirit of sadness in the historical context.



Supporting Refugees

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• Refugees from war-torn nations have shown remarkable adaptation and growth when three characteristics were present. These characteristics are:

1. Maintaining an intact sense of purpose

2. Effective control of traumatic memories

3. Successful protection against destructive social isolation

(Kline & Mone, 2003, p. 324)

Supporting Refugees


Approaches for Immigrants

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• Mental health education

• Individual, group, and family counseling

• Cultural empowerment

• Integration of traditional cultural and Western healing

• Addressing social justice and human right’s issues

(Chung, Bemak, Ortiz, & Sandoval-Perez, 2008)

Approaches for Immigrants


Optimizing Pregnant Mother’s Support

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Strengthening Social Networks

1.Use participant storytelling to support learning and networking.

2.Pair information sharing with fun and stimulating activities.

3.Keep topics and information simple and direct.

4.Encourage and value mothers' abilities to mentor.

5.Encourage mothers to speak.

6.Contribute resources and let mothers contribute too.

7.Explore multiple ways of communicating.

8.Establish formal and informal partnerships with neighborhood resource providers.

9.Offer mothers information to support their future learning.

10.Be patient.

(Lashley & Gianonni, 2010)

Optimizing Pregnant Mother’s Support


The Surprising Benefits of Providing Health Care

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• When the poor are given access to medical care, they find regular doctors and see doctors more often. They also feel better, are less depressed, and are better able to maintain financial stability.

• A group of uninsured low-income adults in Oregon was selected by lottery to be given the chance to apply for Medicaid.

• Those selected saw doctors more regularly, had important screening tests done, and were 40% less likely to end up in financial trouble.

(Kolata, 2011)

The Surprising Benefits of Providing Health Care


Strategies for Avoiding Vicarious Traumatization

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Harrison and Westwood (2009) found nine preventative practices:

1. Countering isolation (in professional, personal, and spiritual realms)

2. Developing mindful self-awareness

3. Consciously expanding perspective to embrace complexity

4. Active optimism

5. Holistic self-care

6. Maintaining clear boundaries

7. Exquisite empathy

8. Professional satisfaction

9. Creating meaning (p. 203)

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• Exquisite Empathy:

When Human Resource workers “maintain clarity about interpersonal boundaries, when they are able to get very close without fusing or confusing the client’s story, experiences, and perspective with their own, this exquisite kind of empathic attunement is nourishing for the worker and client alike. . . . Thus the ability to establish a deep, intimate, therapeutic alliance based upon presence, heartfelt concern, and love is an important aspect of well-being” (Harrison & Westwood, 2009, p. 213).


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References

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• Chung, R. C., Bemak, F., Ortiz, D. P., & Sandoval-Perez, P. A. (2008). Promoting the mental health of immigrants: A multicultural/social justice perspective. Journal of Counseling and Development, 86(3), 310–317.

• Duran, E., Firehammer, J., & Gonzalez, J. (2008). Liberation psychology as the path toward healing cultural soul wounds. Journal of Counseling and Development, 86(3), 288–295.

• Harrison, R. L. & Westwood, M. J. (2009). Preventing vicarious traumatization of mental health therapists: Identifying protective practices. Psychotherapy Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 46(2), 203–219. doi: 10.1037/a0016081

• Kline, P. M., & Mone, E. (2003). Coping with war: Three strategies employed by adolescent citizens of Sierra Leone. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 20(5), 321–333.

• Kolata, G. (2011). First study of its kind shows benefits of providing medical insurance to poor. The New York Times, Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/07/health/policy/07medicaid.html?ref=health based on Finkelstein, A., Taubman, S., Wright, B., Gruber, J., Newhouse, J. P., Allen, H., . . . The Oregon Health Study Group. (2011). The Oregon health insurance experiment: The first year. Retrieved from http://www.nber.org/papers/w17190.pdf

• Lashley, C. O., & Gianonni, L. (2010). Optimizing mothers’ social networks: Information sharing strategies. Young Children, 38-44.

References

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Documents

Flexibility in Seeking Solutions BSHS/345r1 Week Five 1