When I train managers as coaches I always warn them to
respect the power of coaching questions and to recognize
the possibility that what starts as an innocuous, business
related conversation, may lead to the unveiling of a deeper
issue. Coaching managers would be advised to develop at
least a little insight into the signs of abnormal
psychology.
In this article we'll consider the significance of culture
within the study of abnormal psychology. Could it be that
the propensity, identification and treatment of mental
disorders could be affected by matters such as race,
religious conviction, etc?
Culture Bias in Diagnosis
Certainly in Britain - where I am based - there are
research statistics showing differences in the prevalence
rates for mental disorders between different ethnic or
cultural groups.
Depression
Whilst common in our own culture, depression appears almost
absent in Asian cultures, although this could be to do with
the actual numbers of reported cases. Recent research
(Rock, 1982) found that Asians tend to consult their
doctors only for physical problems, seeing emotional
distress as something to be sorted out within the family.
The symptoms of depression also vary. Whilst we might
associate depression with feelings of low self-worth and
hopelessness, Nigerians, for example would complain of
burning sensations and bloating of the stomach (Ebigno,
1986).
Schizophrenia
There is some suggestion that British psychiatry is
insensitive to cultural differences. Cochrane and
Sashidharan (1995) found that African-Caribbean immigrants
were up to 7 times more likely than white people to receive
a diagnosis of schizophrenia. This was not found to be the
case in other countries (Cardwell et al, 1996). Also, in a
study by Nazroo (1997) it was found that the rate of
schizophrenia among Caribbean men was found to be no
greater than among white men, although they were five times
more likely to be hospitalized.
Cultural Blindness
Most psychological therapists have been trained in theory
and practice which have North American or Central European
origins. There appears to be a common assumption that the
behaviours of the white population are normative and that
any deviation from this is indicative of racial or cultural
pathology (Cochrane and Sashidharan, 1995).
Although white therapists are reluctant to believe that
they may be racist, there is evidence to suggest that black
people, for example, do not respond well to traditional
methods of psychotherapy (Jones, 1985).
Cross race therapy can be very difficult and ideally
clients should be given the choice to consult a therapist
from their own cultural background if possible.
For me one conclusion to draw from all this is to question
the arrogant Western view of the so-called 'developing'
world. Developing in to what? Prozac munching, overweight
neurotics?
What then of the coaching manager who stumbles upon such
issues when coaching around workload management or time
keeping? Best advice would seem to be to keep to good
coaching principles. Ask questions designed to raise
awareness, generate responsibility and build trust then
listen carefully and attentively to the responses. This is
highly unlikely to make things worse and may actually do
quite a lot of good.
After that, it's a question of referring the coachee to the
relevant professional. For this reason I recommend that all
coaching managers familiarize themselves with their
organization's welfare procedure.
----------------------------------------------------
Matt Somers is a coaching practitioner of many years'
experience. He works with a host of clients in North East
England where his firm is based and throughout the UK and
Europe. Matt understands that people are working with their
true potential locked away. He shows how coaching provides
a simple yet elegant key to this lock. His popular
mini-guide "Coaching for an Easier Life" is available FREE
at http://www.mattsomers.com
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