A few thoughts on the culture of therapy

At Friday’s training, Peter recommended Anne Fadiman’s book The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down.  It examines the culture of medicine in the US- its assumptions, institutional practices, and particular language- and explores what happens when it comes into contact with another culture with different conceptions of the body, medicine, and the materialness of the soul.  How do these cultures communicate?  How does cultural awareness grow, and where are its limitations?  Who is involved in the process of translating experience- whether it be physical, cognitive, or emotional?

My own personal experiences, as well as the situations I have witnessed as an AmeriCorps member this year working with a diverse group of families, compels me to examine these questions now.  More specifically, I would like to explore the culture of therapy within America, and how its assumptions and methods can prevent effective behavioral health treatment for youth from different cultures and their families.

[Disclaimer:  I have never taken a psychology course, and know very little about how this topic has been treated in academia or the world of behavioral psychology.  The little research I have done has yielded a scant selection of articles, and I am using this blog post as a jumping-off point for more ideas (from y’all!) on how to learn more.  This is simply a personal, anecdotal perspective].

I recall in particular one family therapy session in which my parents, first-generation immigrants from India, sat on the couch with me facing my American psychologist.  As we begin talking, it became clear that we were speaking different languages, and that serious gaps in our vocabulary were hindering communication between the four of us.  My parents speak English fluently, and so our problem lied beyond the literal level; it was the cultural concepts that were causing confusion.

At one point, the psychologist asked me (as someone who could ‘translate’ between cultures, being a second-generation immigrant) for Bengali culture’s analogy for “leaving the nest” and the process of individuation of young adults from their parents.  I fumbled for a bit and realized- there wasn’t any.  Girls do not typically leave their paternal home until they are married, and there really isn’t any word for “individual” that doesn’t have selfish connotations.  Similar un-translatable moments occurred around the concepts of boundaries and privacy, depression, and the use of pharmaceuticals in treatment.  

I share this experience because I believe it is quite common.  Within the Western traditions of therapy, counseling, and particularly- psychoanalysis, there exist some cultural assumptions that can come into conflict with the values, traditions, and beliefs.  Within the very personal and sensitive arena of mental and behavioral health, this may lead to a family’s decision to disengage with the parties responsible for providing counseling or treatment.  If members of a family don’t feel that the person who is supposed to be helping them understands them, or feels that they should not be involved in their family’s private affairs, then problems within the youth or family can go ignored, compound and intensify.

So here are some very general culturally-variable concepts/issues that I think that we may need to think about when it comes to therapy:

·         Boundaries and privacy, both within a family and in regards to the family’s relationships with social workers, therapists, case workers, etc.

·         Individualism/individuation

·         Shame, guilt, and taboo- even the idea of “needing” therapy or receiving a “diagnosis” can be seen as shameful to some families

·         Gender dynamics- who has the power to influence and make decisions?  How will people navigate these realities in a safe and healthy manner?

·         Different communication styles (or lack thereof) within families or cultures

I’m sure that there has been conversations about this topic and work has been done, I just wanted to share my vague initial thoughts....perhaps more for another blog post or research for a paper!

Graduation Day at Austin Academy

My site, The Austin Academy, held its annual graduation ceremony last week. This event recognized the students who have successfully completed the Adult Basic Education (ABE), Job Readiness Training (JRT), and GED programs during the past year. In 2011, 27 students completed ABE; 67 received Job Readiness certificates; and 45 graduates earned their GEDs. About 30 of the graduates (several completed more than one program) and their families participated in a wonderful celebration at St. David’s Church in downtown Austin on Thursday, January 19th.

Travis County Judge Samuel Biscoe was the commencement speaker. In his remarks, Judge Biscoe extended his heartfelt congratulations to the graduates, discussed the significance of their accomplishments, and encouraged each of them to seriously consider continuing their education by attending college. He highlighted the importance of education in his own life and pointed out that, by obtaining their GEDs, our graduates have not only opened doors for themselves but have put themselves in a position to be more productive members of our community. In addition to recognizing the graduates, he challenged their family members and friends in attendance, especially the young people, to follow the example set by our graduates and to relentlessly pursue education at every opportunity.

The highlight of the ceremony, at least for me, came when three of our GED graduates spoke about their experiences at The Austin Academy and the impact that obtaining their GEDs has had on their lives. While the three could not have been more “different” as people, each of them talked in his/her own words about how having the opportunity to obtain a GED as an adult has essentially given them a second chance in life. About 15 of this year’s graduates, including the three who spoke, are now or soon will be attending college.

Attending graduation was an eye opening experience. I've enjoyed every day that I've spent at Austin Academy, but I have to admit that I've probably gotten caught up in the day to day activities of the classroom from time to time and occasionally lost sight of why our students are here. This graduation ceremony certainly put things back in focus for me in a very positive way. Listening to the speakers, especially the three graduates, and seeing the sense of accomplishment, pride, and hope in all of the students and their families as the graduates received their diplomas made this unlike any graduation I've ever attended. (And given my age, I've been to a lot of them.) I'm glad I was able to be there. It's something I'll never forget.

All in One Place

In the mid 90's Robert Putnam did a study on the social fabric of America. His findings - for every 10 minutes of daily commute, we are 10% less likely to have meaningful relationships. The average commute for Americans today - 30 minutes, each way!

This year, as an Americorps member, I have been fortunate enough to experience living, working and doing life in the same community. Some of the greatest benefits noted so far...

• Saving money on transportation
• Saving hours of daylight for many activities
  
• Seeing neighbors on the street, at work, at the store -
• Experiencing the adventures of relationship building
  
• Being challenged to love and serve everyone I see (because I will see them again tomorrow) - easier to say than do!
• Familiar faces at the grocery store
• Not being worried if I forget something at my home
• Being on time is easier than ever before!
• Can you think of anything else?! (add to the comments)

I understand that this is not a feasible living situation for everyone in Austin. Some workplaces are many miles away from any livable residential area. I'm simply pointing out that living and working in the same community has tremendous benefits for both the individual and society. Before the invent of the modern highway system, people had no other choice but to work near their homes. Real relationships (not online kind!) grew out of necessity and daily dependence. Nowadays, its easy for one individual to live in one community, while working, shopping,going to school, going to church, dining, and doing exercise in completely different communities. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, but I personally believe too much of a divided sense of community can lead one feeling disconnected and isolated! Arguably one of the greatest desires that we as humans have: true community. We weren't built for isolation.

It's my desire to keep this as a reality in my life as long as possible - and I invite others to do the same!

Weather. War. Teaching. Learning. Decisions.

On Tuesday mornings I teach small group conversation in the low level ESL class at the Kyle Learning Center.  Today I had planned a lesson about the weather.  Because I don’t speak Spanish I usually base the lessons around a page or two in the Spanish/English picture dictionary that I photocopy for the students.  We work on pronunciation of English words together and then I have the students get into groups and work on practicing their conversation skills using the words they learned that day.  The students and I talked about the differences in weather in Texas and other parts of the U.S.  We talked about kinds of weather the students had experienced like heat waves, hurricanes, and rain while I described sleet, tornados and snowstorms.   After I explained the difference between a blizzard and a lizard, one student asked me where I was from.  I told them I had moved from Minnesota, but my parents were in the U.S. military and I had lived a lot of places including Germany and Alaska.   Another student asked why people join the military if they know they could go to war and die. This is such a complex topic I was caught off guard and had to think a moment about how to talk about the question with a group of ESL students.  Often in class I get pulled off topic by random questions, but they are usually about concepts like wishing someone good luck, the difference between tree and three, or how to tell someone to have a good day.  I am learning that as a teacher it is difficult to simplify concepts down to the bare bones of a topic and to not teach from a biased point of view.  At the same time I like to explain my opinion, clearly stating that it is just that, about topics so that the students are engaged in a discussion using critical thinking.  So…..in a few seconds I had to formulate my thoughts about how to talk about the military/war/world powers into a well-rounded chunk of information that answered the question. So I launched into an explanation about why people join the military even though they could be sent to fight in a war.  (I excluded my father’s story about getting drunk with a bunch of his friends and daring each other to get tattoos and to fill out an application to enlist in the army.  My father was surprised that he was the only one of his friends accepted even though he had flat feet, a pin in his ankle, and didn’t remember filling the application out in the first place).  I talked about the Vietnam War, draft cards, the Berlin Wall, communism, etc.  After a short amount of time one of the students said – okay, that was enough of that topic! We hopped back on the topic of the weather, and the students looked at pictures of news reporters experiencing different types of weather and described them to their partners.  At the end of class we said we would see each other next week.    The question that the student asked has made me think about so many things today.  My thoughts have been swirling around how and why we make the decisions that we do as individuals.  The last few weeks I have been stressing myself out trying to decide what to do after my AmeriCorps experience ends.  I have never been able to make decisions quickly - usually it is agonizing and I beat myself up a lot. Today's experience in class has reminded me that instead of being so burdened by the thoughts of having to make decisions, that I should be thinking that I am privileged to be able to make those decisions.

January's Book Club: "The Road"

We officially kicked off our first book club meeting over the weekend with "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy. Seven members of our AmeriCorps group met up at my apartment to discuss "The Road" over some tasty treats. For those of you who haven't read the book, it is a heart-wrenching, yet beautiful story of a man and his son who are trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world. The book is a quick read and is incredibly well written. We discussed many topics ranging from the interesting writing style (including the curious use of grammar and puncuation... we are all teachers, here!) to our thoughts concerning post-apocalyptic life and how we think we would react to the situation. I would recommend "The Road" to anyone looking for an entertaining and inspiring story, but be sure to arm yourself with a pack of tissues and a friend with whom you can discuss the book if you intend to read it. for next month, we are gearing up to read "Jazz" by Toni Morrison. Check back later for more updates on that book and more!

Tips for Living on an AmeriCorps Budget

Last week after professional development, I joined some fellow Literacy AmeriCorps members for dinner and drinks. We got on the subject of the AmeriCorps stipend and began trading money-saving tips and stories of frugality. Now in the throws of my third year as an AmeriCorps member, I have plenty of experience living on a strict budget, and I believe that I may have some wisdom to share. So, I give you some of my best tips for stretching your AmeriCorps stipend.

• Check out Craigslist, garage sales, or thrift stores for free or low priced furniture and other household goods. Sure, the couch I ended up with was a little fuzzy and stained, but it was free and it's previous owner even dropped it off at my apartment. After some heavy vacuuming and a slip cover, it is now the perfect spot to nap after teaching English all day.
• Go (almost) anywhere with free food. Whole Foods and Central Market have tons of samples on the weekends that make the perfect morning snack. When else will I get to eat incredibly expensive cheese anyways?
• Trade and barter. I have a few friends whose only vehicles are bikes, so when we need to go somewhere relatively far away, I drive. They're living on a fixed income, too, so instead of asking for gas money, I just tell them to invite me over for dinner sometime. My Zumba instructor also offered to give me some free classes if I help her set up and take down her equipment.
• Get your haircut by a friend or at a cosmetology school. Worst case, you leave with an incredibly sore neck after tilting your head for 2 hours, as the student stylist tried to make sure that every strand of hair was exactly the same length. Best case, you get an awesome, professional looking haircut for $4. 
• Keep your eyes and ears open for deals. Sure, you might have to sacrifice some convenience, but saving a few dollars here and there really adds up! When I flew back to Chicago for Christmas I got a voucher for giving up my seat (hello free flight home for a friend's wedding). Today I got a 2 for 1 deal for tickets to a comedy show at Esther's Follies, and I saved a few cents on my coffee by using my Go Local Austin card.

Upbeat Update !

To follow through on the recent happenings with one of my students who was arrested and held since two days before Christmas..... I visited her at the Del Valle 'detention facility' yesterday afternoon. She is an amazingly resilient woman given the potentially life altering situation she finds herself in now. Having been unceremoniously 'picked up' from her apartment at 5 AM by local police and since held at Del Valle, she has been challenged at every turn by a series of confusing realities that require complex decision making. At this point she has a public defender who fortunately has expertise in her dual jeopardy criminal/immigration dilemma who hopes to achieve a U VISA status for her, allowing her to remain in the US with her children. Having passed on any and all information that I could glean from the American Gateways representatives, it was such a relief to find that she had been able to effectively advocate for herself even as a limited English speaker. Her attitude is that she "has to do something while I'm in here", having signed up for in house ESL classes toward pursuing her GED! For the first time since the arrest, she was able yesterday to see her young children (ages 5 and 3)explaining to the question of the eldest that she is at a "special school" where they need all the police to keep robbers from stealing their books! Very resourceful in such an emotional circumstance. I found her "glass as half full" perspective an incredible testament to maternal capacity to handle a crisis with aplomb. The boy was barraging her with questions and she thinks she 'sold' him with her explanation, at least for now.
Her court case is not until February 23rd by which time she will have been in custody for 2 full months; full on mom torture! She has been bolstered by phone calls/texts from close friends and will now be receiving mail from myself as well as her classmates, all of whom are seriously concerned that this has occurred to someone they know. She is hopeful that others will visit her personally as there is such a long time yet remaining for her detention. Unfortunately she cannot take advantage of getting out on bail because she would then be picked up by ICE and sent to immigration detention within a much more restrictive environment where communications and legal assistance would be further limited.
This is not an uncommon occurrence in Texas, we need to be well informed as to available resources for our students. All the more important then that we maintain our roles as positive mentor advocates for our capable but vulnerable student population.
AmeriCorps folks have knowledge, advocacy potential and heart!

"Teacher" is now my new favorite word

As an ESL teacher, I am used to students calling me “teacher”. I think it’s always interesting to be in a group of other ESL teachers, have a student approach us from behind, say “teacher”, and we all turn around to help - even if they are our student or not! I have learned that some students call us teacher because that’s who we are. Others say “teacher” because they can never remember our names or have difficulty pronouncing our names. I always feel so privileged to be called a teacher because I feel like it means I have something to offer, not just how to teach my students English, but general knowledge. Knowledge of the city, knowledge of our country, and knowledge to help students in their daily lives.

A new group of Cuban students arrived to our school and we have immediately bonded. It’s interesting because I haven’t taught them yet, just evaluated their English proficiency, but they still call me “profe” (Spanish for teacher). I have learned that they call me profe when they want to ask me something about school, but they also call me profe when we are joking around or talking about our lives with one another. Through these students, I now see that being a teacher, a profe, doesn't mean just giving knowledge or helping, it also means being a friend. I am honored to be a teacher because it means that I can also give friendship to my students.

The Allergy Capital of the World

Pretty much everyone knows Austin as "The Live Music Capital of the World." You may not know that it is also referred to as "The Allergy Capital of the World." The seasonal allergies I experience in Austin are probably my single complaint about this incredible city. Every year like clockwork,  when the middle of December comes around, my nose instantly begins to run, my eyes start to water uncontrollably, my head starts to feel like a balloon, and I feel like a zombie for a week or so. I did get my usual 7 to 10 days of allergies this past December, but I am also currently in the throes of an encore attack as of yesterday, courtesy of cedar fever (yes it's a real thing!).

If you've never experienced allergies, you might be skeptical of the alleged severity or even existence of allergies. However, if you've ever suffered from them, regularly or just once, you, like me, know that they are very, very real. One of the tough parts is you're not contagious, so you feel like you should go about your normal schedule, but when it comes down to it, just functioning at a normal level is a struggle. And a lot of times, people give you a hard time and say things like "it's just allergies, what's the big deal?" Oh how I envy their blissful ignorance. I'm really not trying to whine or complain, just commiserating with fellow allergy sufferers in Austin and elsewhere, and discussing an aspect of life in Central Texas. As terrible as allergies and all their side effects are, it's a price I'll pay to live in the one and only Austin, Texas.

A ray of sunshine in the fog of sinus pressure and tissue piles was the fact that adult education classes resumed yesterday at LifeWorks and thus my wonderful students returned. It was great to hear about their holidays and see how eager they were to get right back to work. While the allergies don't completely go away, they do fade somewhat when I'm teaching and interacting with my students, so I'm sticking to a strict regimen of teaching and daily antihistamines.

Back to Work!

After a refreshing holiday in the great state of Ohio, I'm coming back to American YouthWorks with new energy and enthusiasm. My first task in the new year is to prepare our first ever large group volunteer orientation, to communicate our teaching style and philosophy to our new crop of volunteers.
One exercise I'm working on is meant to get the volunteers thinking about where students are coming from, and what their goals for learning might be. Each volunteer will receive a piece of paper with a short, first-person bio, with details like: what they do for a living, how often do they speak English outside of class, how recently they moved here, whether or not they have children, and what their reasons were for seeking out English classes. I made fictional bios based on details drawn from my students lives. Every person will read their bio aloud, and then we'll talk about how these people's goals are similar and how they are different, and how we can help them meet those goals through studying with us.
The exercise of writing as my students was a great way to get back in to the teaching saddle. It provides a focused meditation on what incredible things you can give someone as a teacher, and how students reward you with hard work and trust. My students rarely have specific goals in mind, but see learning English as a path they can take to a better life. I think that's something we all can relate to; we've all taken a chance on something because we wanted a change, even though we didn't know where it would take us. When we work on framing our goals in class and I ask them, "what do you think will change about your life as your English improves?" their answer is always initially "Everything."
I'm inspired by the hard work and commitment my students put in, and by the responsibility I have to them. Hopefully, along with lots of awesome English vocab and grammar, I can help them learn to feel comfortable putting themselves out there and learning from their mistakes. Even though each student has different goals, I think that's something everyone can benefit from. And hopefully my volunteers will find their work as rewarding as I do!

Here are some of AYW's rock star students at our pre-break Christmas party!

-Amelia

Pictures, Gestures & Charades

“What is __________________?”

This is the most commonly uttered phrase by students in my ELL classes and tutoring sessions—adults and children alike.  Until recently, it had the power to launch a series of semi-coherent, wholly unproductive series of questions in my mind around semantics, cultural history, and existence.  Since I could not translate the words into Spanish (most of my students speak a variety of languages that I do not speak), I found myself struggling to communicate meaning without overwhelming them with less useful information. Following are some sample exchanges:

Student 1:  What is ‘window’?

My mind: Fairly simple: point to several windows and repeat word.

My mouth:”This is a window.  And this is a window. “  

Mind:  Good job, Rhea! No wait...

Mouth:  Oh, well there’s also ‘windows’ that open and close on computer screens, like when using a browser; or there’s the operating system “Windows”; and then there are metaphorical windows, like a window of opportunity, of a window of time—though I suppose those ‘windows’ are the same as the first one, just less literally…” 

Result:  Have confused myself as well as students.  See some students writing feverishly during my answer, and hands are up: “What is browser?”  “What is system?”  Everyone is more confused than before.

Student 2:  What is ‘case’?

My mind:  Well, there’s bulk containers of things like soda cans, which sometimes come in a case.  There’s also an investigation in a criminal case.  People also say ‘in case’, which means in the situation that…or there’s ‘case the joint’, which is really only used in gangster movies from the 60s…guess I’ll just stick to the context she’s talking about.

My mouth: “Well right here on this form, it’s asking for your ‘case number’.  The last time you called [miming telephone] the insurance company [point to her insurance card] did they give you a number [write numbers] to use with your name [say her name and numbers].

Result:  Much better, student seems to understand and is able to complete the task at hand.

Student:  What is ‘opportunity’?

My mind: [Jumbled cacophony]  What is opportunity?  Something akin to this going on it my head.

My mouth:  “It’s…um…uhhhhh…”

Result:  We lose a few minutes while I try to make up examples and draw illegible explanations.

So what have I learned?

1.     1.  Use fewer words

2.     2.  Stick to the context at hand…there are too many homonyms/homophones/ homographs to explain!

3.     3.  Use pictures and charades whenever possible- keep a picture dictionary on hand or for individual tutoring sessions, look up words using google images (students can practice this skill on their own, too, if not already familiar); and MIME!  I have gotten on all fours to mime a ‘wag’.  I have bumped my foot (lightly) against the desk to grab it and say ‘Ouch!  It hurts!”  Some words are too abstract to mime (ie: opportunity) in which case…

4.   4.    Ask to come back to it later- whether a good way of showing pops up before end of class or you need a way to think about it between classes, write it on a list and come back to it …a good explanation later is better than a lengthy, confusing one now.

These are, indeed, all tips that we learned at our ESL training.  But the experience is really getting them across, and I was wondering if anyone else had tips/strategies for explaining more abstract, but important, words/concepts. 

I have also come up with an [incredibly dorky] game that I like to play home- challenge your friends to find homophones with as many different meanings as possible.  Now try it with homographs!  And, as with all things, it turns out that someone on the interweb has already done it.

Happy holidays, y'all!

Winter in Texas = Perpetual Fall Weather in Minnesota

When I first told friends that I was going to be moving to Texas in August this past year, the first thing they exclaimed was, “Texas is HOT!!!”  To which I replied, “Minnesota is COLD!!!”  I was very excited about moving to a region where there would be no snow having lived most of my life in northern states (Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin) and the very northern-est state (Alaska).

I always enjoyed the brisk snowy days with fluffy snow especially around Christmas.  It just makes sense that snow and the winter holidays go together and days gradually became darker and less sun filled.   However, I have also always hated scraping my frosty car, ear infections, shoveling snow, dead car batteries, and icy roads.  So….the bad won out and I gladly moved to Texas looking forward to mild winter temperatures and no snow.  I wasn’t excited about the humid summer that felt like I was walking through soup outside and the drought, but I gladly traded it for the bitter Minnesota winter temperatures that suck the air right out of your lungs.

Of course, moving to Texas in the middle of August was a shock to my system and temperatures were over 100 degrees for nearly a month after I moved.  I swam in the San Marcos River, Barton Springs, and my apartment pool and very much enjoyed central air!  I kept waiting and waiting for the temperatures to settle down and get cooler and they finally did.  I scraped frost off my car windshields only one day so far this year in November and I marveled at my students who were practically crying at how cold it was at around 30 degrees. 

Playing Christmas music felt very strange on days with the sun shining and I was wearing sandals.  It never did seem to be the right time to decorate and bake cookies in the perpetual fall weather here in Texas.  The leaves started turning colors and falling around the middle of December.  To my surprise, temperatures jumped up and down throughout December reaching 75 degrees around Christmas. My mother who was visiting for the holidays deemed this summer weather and swam in the San Marcos River with her dog Cherry – they both enjoyed the wonderful Texas “winter” weather!