Guidelines for the assessment of Muslim clients
At the initial or pre-counselling interview, it is important to assess the client’s preferred language in case the client does not share the same language as the counsellor. The use of a professional translator may be necessary. Issues of confidentiality should be discussed with the client and the family. The counsellor needs to be aware of the beliefs about the clients' illness, its causes, and when and from whom to seek care as this may have a significant influence on the presentation of illness or sickness behaviours (Rassool and Gemaey, 2014). During the process of engagement and the development of the therapeutic relationship the counsellor will be in a better position to explore the client’s
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According to Koenig et al., (1996), the spiritual assessment undertaken “validates religion as an important part of the client’s life and identifies a potential coping resource. It also provides vital information that is necessary in designing any future interventions that may include the client’s religious faith.” (p. 169). Richards and Bergin (1997) provided five reasons to include spiritual assessments in counselling: Spiritual assessments help counsellors to obtain a better understanding of clients’ worldviews; to determine if a religious orientation is positive and negative; to evaluate whether a client’s religious or spiritual community is a potential coping resource; to enable counsellors to make decisions regarding which spiritual or religious interventions will be helpful to a client; and to assist counsellors in determining how a client’s presenting problems and spiritual issues are …show more content…
An instrument that can be used universally with both Shiite and Sunni Muslims is the Religiosity of Islam Scale (RoIS) (Masri and Priester, 2007).The RoIS is a 19-item instrument with two subscales: Islamic Beliefs and Islamic Behavioral Practices. The scope and nature of the assessment will depend on the specific type of presenting issue. For some Muslim clients, the primary presenting counselling issue may be psycho-spiritual in nature so that a full spiritual assessment is warranted. One valuable point to consider is that the religious commitment of some Muslims could be the result of external (societal or familial) pressure, internal commitment, or some combination of the two (Rahiem and Hamid, 2012). Taking a spiritual history and using appropriate spiritual assessment tools can enable information to be gathered about spirituality relative to the nature of the presenting problem (Proctor, 2009). A spiritual assessment may explore such issues as the client’s religious practices, beliefs, client's religious coping style, special celebrations and religious support network. That is to assist the client by putting them in touch with their religious network. The support network or religious group may be a source of support or religiously oriented coping mechanism. According to Isgandarova (2007), the use of spiritual assessment tool
...ulture is changing, Hmong are not all the same, importance of family, privacy issues, mental health issues, and small talk is important (Barrett et al., 1998, 181-182) . Overall, Barrett and others concluded that in order to improve interaction between patient and doctor all they have to do is follow these easy steps. First, is to be kind and have a positive attitude towards the patient and interpreter. Second, learn about each other’s cultures prior to meeting, to better understand each other. Third, better explain diagnosis and treatment options to patients. Fourth, improve translation providers need to get better interpreters who could concisely explain the consultation. Fifth, involve the family to make more thorough decisions. Sixth, respect patient’s decisions and there are still other alternatives to improve interaction (Barrett et al., 1998, 182-183).
A Biopsychosocial spiritual assessment (BPSS) is vital to use when providing a framework for the client’s presenting problems. It serves as a guide to help Social Workers determine how the client’s biological, psychological, social, and spiritual dimensions affect their overall functioning. The BPSS assessment allows the Social Worker to view the client holistically, examine barriers that prevent the client from receiving proper treatment, and the ways the client’s interacting systems have an impact in their life. For the purpose of this paper, I will complete a biopsychosocial assessment based on the information my client has disclosed to me and implement strategies necessary to achieve his treatment goals.
A difficulty that has occurred commonly is that a definition of spirituality cannot be agreed on. In a broad explanation of both religion as well as spirituality, religion constitutes the organization of faith, implementing prayer, ministry and theology. Spirituality could be viewed as a more individualized experience with a higher being, creator or idea (Walker et al., 2004, p. 70). These expressions allow a vision of client diversity that is found in all counseling classifications. While defining religion and spirituality properly seems trivial, when training counselors to properly apply the use of such variables in their therapies, a concrete explanation is imperative.
Counseling is a process in which a counselor and client must build a good rapport and relationship in order to be successful in reaching the goal at hand. There are several stages of counseling which must be considered when counselors intend to build a relationship with their client, each stage being equally important in leading to the next stage. The stages of counseling include: establishing the working relationship, assessing or defining the presenting problem, identifying and setting goals, choosing and initiating interventions and planning and introducing termination and follow-up (Hackney & Comier, 2013). I will discuss each of the stages of counseling and cultural considerations that must be taken in building a counseling relationship.
In the investigation of Islam, the five pillars of Islam provide a glimpse of the life and obligations of the Muslim. The main pillars include confession, prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and pilgrimage. This essay will provide a brief overview of the pillars, how prayer is lived out in an individual Muslims life, and how Christians assimilate to Muslim culture in Saudi Arabia.
I let my client tell me how he felt about illness based on his own values and beliefs. I also used therapeutic communication techniques such as general lead, listening, sitting at eye level with the client etc. to make this as comfortable as possible for him. I think I was appropriate and very successful at retrieving my client’s beliefs about illness and sickness without pressuring him too much. In the future when conducting an interview with another person about their culture, I would use the same techniques and approach as I found it to be very successful, and my client was very comfortable and established a trust worthy relationship with him regarding his illness based on his cultural beliefs and values. This interview contributed in preparing me for the future and also gave me insight on how to conduct a successful cultural assessment without making assumptions. I learned that every culture is unique and has somewhat of a similarity to other cultures, but one must never assume before doing a thorough assessment. This also prepared me in being more culturally competent while providing care to clients and their families from different cultures and
The physician will question the patient about any stressors she may be contending with at home or work prior to her entering the hospital. The physician will order lab tests and speak with the patient to understand the psychological factors; a referral will be made for making a final diagnosis. After the physician reviews both lab tests and the psychological factors, a referral will be made for the patient to see a clinician. The referral will focus on obtaining support and stabilization. The clinical assessment will gather information using written forms as a first step, including releases to speak with family members. The second step would be to invite the family along with the client in an effort to obtain a better understanding of existing medical conditions along with any past mental disorders. Abuse as a child or abuse as an adult will be determined. The clinician will evaluate if the client is portraying any signs due to alcoholism or a drug addictions. An example of one question her clin...
Jaoudi, Maria. Christian and Islamic spirituality: sharing a journey. Mahwah, N.J.: Paulist Press, 1993. Print.
Understanding the counseling session from the client’s perspective is a very important aspect in the development of a therapeutic relationship. A clinician must be an excellent listener, while being to pay attention to the client’s body language, affect and tone. The dynamics in the counseling session that is beneficial to the client include the recognition of the pain that the client is feeling. The detrimental part of this includes a misunderstanding of the real issues, a lack of consideration of the cultural aspects of the client, and a lack of clinical experience or listening skills. In this presentation, we will discuss the positive and negative aspects of the counseling session from the client’s perspective which includes the client’s attitudes, feelings, and emotions of the counseling session. We will next examine the propensity of the client to reveal or not reveal information to the counselor, and how transference, and counter-transference can have an effect on the counselor-client relationship.
The use of active listening is an essential skill to achieve this type of relationship as well as a sensitivity for clients who come from a culture different than the counselor’s culture. Great counseling also includes being honest with the client from the first session where informed consent is provided. It is important to discuss the limitations of confidentiality. Another important factor is to guide the client into setting realistic goals, so the counseling sessions can be more
The two largest religions in the world, Christianity and Islam, were implemented by two of religions most powerful leaders, Jesus and Muhammad. Without question, both Jesus and Muhammad have affected humanity powerfully. As religious leaders both men laid down the principles upon which Christianity and Islam are founded yet today. However, while Jesus performed miracles and arose from the dead, thus proving to his followers he was God, Muhammad performed no such feats, and made no such claims. In fact, Muhammad’s only claim was that he was the last prophet sent from God.
On the down side there are a limited number of educational programs that adequately deal with the issue of incorporating religion and spirituality in therapeutic/counseling settings. This can be attributed to the fact that counseling is based in psychology, a scientific field, which has traditionally neglected issues of a spiritual nature (Nelson, Kirk, Ane, & Serres, 2011) as well as the practice used within the United States to separate education and religion (Cashwell and Young, 2011). This then results in a significant portion of therapist and counselors who are not prepared to address the issue of spirituality and religion with their clients. One would think that with the value many Americans place on the topic of religion and spirituality that there would come a time when a client would want to address this topic during his or her session.
Peek, L. (2005). Becoming muslim: the development of a religious identity. Sociology of religion, 215-242.
Most people who struggle with substance addiction begin experimenting with drugs in their teens. The four year period from entering high school as a child and graduating as a young adult can mean several changes for teenagers incusing experimentation of substances that can lead to long term effects, addiction as an adult, and in some cases death. According to the American Addiction Center, “...in 2014, approximately 5 percent of the American adolescent population suffered from a substance use disorder; this equates to 1,3 million teens or 1 in every 12.” The reasons that teenagers begin to use drugs and drink alcohol vary. Some of the leading causes of substance abuse among teens include: access, peer pressure and emotional disorders.
The term ‘Therapeutic communication’ identifies the way in which a nurse and patient interact, with the main focus being on advancing the emotional well-being of a patient; (Sherko E., et al, 2013) nurses will use this to deliver support and information to Edna. Effective communication skills are essential within nursing and are often seen as one of the main skills necessary for nurses to support patients and their families (Bramhall E, 2014). There are many forms of therapeutic communication that can be used in