Читать книгу Counseling the Culturally Diverse - Laura Smith L. - Страница 81

Nonverbal behavior provides clues to conscious deceptions or unconscious biases (Utsey, Gernat, & Hammar, 2005). There is evidence that the accuracy of nonverbal communication varies with the part of the body used: facial expression is more controllable than the hands, followed by the legs and the rest of the body (Hansen, Stevic, & Warner, 1982). The implications for multicultural counseling are obvious. Therapists who have not adequately dealt with their own biases and stereotypes may unwittingly communicate them to culturally diverse clients. Studies suggest that women and Persons of Color are better readers of nonverbal cues than are White males (Hall, 1976; Jenkins, 1982). The reason for this may be survival: for marginalized group members to survive and thrive in a predominantly White society, they must often rely on nonverbal cues as much or more than on verbal ones.

Nonverbals often occur outside our level of awareness, yet they influence our evaluation of others and our behavior toward them (Locke & Bailey, 2014; Garrett & Portman, 2011). Acculturated within a society whose communication styles correspond to European American middle‐class norms, mental health professionals may assume that certain behaviors or rules of speaking are universal and possess the same meaning for everyone. This may create major problems for therapists and clients of varying cultural backgrounds. The cultural upbringing of many cultural minorities dictates characteristic patterns of communication that may place them at a disadvantage in therapy. Counseling, for example, usually involves frequent initiation of communication by the client. In other words, the client is often expected to take a major responsibility for initiating conversation in the session and breaking silences without waiting to be directed; the counselor listens, responds, and generally plays a less active role. However, many cultures—for example, American Indians, Asian Americans, and Latinx Americans—may function according to cultural traditions that weigh against this communication pattern. Members of cultural groups such as these may have been raised to respect elders and authority figures and not to speak until spoken to. Clearly defined roles of authority may have been established in the traditional family. Such clients may see therapy as an authoritative process in which a good therapist is direct and active; this client, if asked to initiate conversation, may become uncomfortable and respond with only brief statements. Therapists in turn may interpret this behavior negatively, when in actuality it is a sign of respect.