The book Crazy like Us was written by Ethan Watters who has studied the trends in social psychology for the past twenty years. This book went into detail on how our ideas on psychology as a culture were pretty much forced upon the other areas of the world and as a result started a chain reaction of mental, and in some cases physical health issues. This book stressed how if we had taken the time to understand multicultural differences and there effects on psychology before we forced our cultures ideas on them we could have taken a different approach and it may have been helpful instead of being so detrimental. The chapter that stuck out to me the most was The Rise of Anorexia in Hong Kong; this reading really disturbed me deeply. I have known quite a few anorexic patients from the treatment center I am currently working at, and from what I have seen it is a very hard a delicate disease to treat, and I never knew how much harder it was to deal with overseas. The ways that we tried to alter the methods of how these cases are dealt with did nothing positive for the women and men of Hong Kong, if anything it made it worse Dr. Sing Lee who was Hong Kong’s top researcher of eating disorders believes, western assumptions about eating disorders were not only steamrolling local variations but also potentially acting as a vector, both spreading these illnesses and shaping their expression pg 63. (Crazy like Us). I believe there is no better way to sum up this chapter, and it also shows just how dangerous not knowing about the ways to handle different illnesses in other cultures can be to their population. In the reading I was really shocked to see just how much damage that western civilization had done to the world psychologically. I do not personally blame us as a culture for the suffering of the individuals who were affected by our ideas, and this is because in reality we were trying to help the world by sharing the psychological breakthroughs that worked for our culture. I do blame us for not having as much multicultural competence as we needed before we decided to try to share our own cultural experiences with everyone else. If we had taken the time to find out if these methods were appropriate for certain cultures it may have not only saved many lives but helped us to find knew successful ways to be more sensitive to other cultures psychological differences and needs. The book Crazy like Us was a great asset for me in expanding my multicultural horizons. It gave me an understanding of just how serious cultural differences are in finding and performing a successful psychological treatment. Some of the things that I read in this book made me cringe, I was truly upset that we as a culture hurt so many people when in reality we were only trying to do good and help them. In the future I am going to be sure to check with all patients to make sure they are comfortable with me culturally before I start any type of treatment, because I may not be what they need for a successful therapeutic journey. This book also showed me different was to go about treating patients from other cultures and how they may be sensitive to some of our western world ideas. If I have learned anything from this book it is that as counselors we need to take the time to be aware and respectful of the different psychological aspects of other cultures, and once we can do that we can become good multicultural therapists.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
M., Erneling, C. E., Montero, M. & Lee, N., 2007) discuss the characteristics and distinctions between various forms of global and alternative psychologies, including international, global, cross-cultural psychology, ethnic, economic, political and liberation psychology (as cited in Stevens & Gielen, 2007). Although the terms are used interchangeably, international and global psychology consist of notable differences.…
- 1923 Words
- 8 Pages
Powerful Essays -
There are many people in the world that are at war with each other and it’s a shame to see so many different types of ethnic groups that are so much different but on the other hand have a lot of things that are in common. Since the beginning of time there has always been some kind of jealousy or arguments between ethnic groups and each of their ways of lives can be a bit different which can cause hate crimes and such to each of the different ethnic groups. Psychology can come into play to help solve some of the problems that can occur between two ethnic groups. Cross-cultural psychology is a branch of psychology that looks at how cultural factors influence human behavior. (Shiraev & Levy, 2010) So in other words we as a whole can use cross culture psychology to help determine the human behavior and why a certain ethnic group can think about another one just because of the differences the two may have. Some of the differences between two ethnic groups can be religion. Not all cultures or ethnic groups pray or believe in the same God in the same way. (Shiraev & Levy, 2010) An example of this would be in the United States we have so many different types of religions that can have to do with the way a person dresses for church such as a Baptist church may not have a dress code but if a person was to go to a Catholic church a dress code is put into place. But there are many differences in religion just within the United States.…
- 1456 Words
- 6 Pages
Better Essays -
Our golden arches do not represent our most troubling impact on other cultures; rather, it is how we are flattening the landscape of the human psyche itself. We are engaged in the grand project of Americanizing the world's understanding of the human mind. This might seem like an impossible claim to back up, as such a change would be happening inside the conscious and unconscious thoughts of more than six billion people. But there are telltale signs that have recently become unmistakable. Particularly telling are the changing manifestations of mental illnesses around the world. In the past two decades, for instance, eating disorders have risen in Hong Kong and are now spreading to inland China. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has become the common diagnosis, the lingua franca of human suffering, following wars and natural disasters. In addition, a particularly Americanized version of depression is on the rise in countries across the…
- 1202 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
disorders and argue for a need of increased awareness regarding different types of eating disorder symptoms other that Western symptom patterns. Drawing from a review of the research literature from 1973 to 2003, the authors describe links between culture, ethnicity and eating disorders in Asian populations and critically discuss the…
- 1268 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays -
Multicultural psychology gives the concepts necessary to understand, perceive, and value diverse cultures. Cultures include the learned behaviors, beliefs, attitudes, and values of people from various societies. They are also considered the shared customs of a society. A professional working in today’s society should have an understanding that there is no one culture globally better or superior to another. The professional with a bias view of cultural diversity is said to be unaware of him or herself. Learning to accept cultural diversity is a journey every individual should travel to appreciate this multicultural…
- 956 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Eating disorders are common in many societies and have been prominent throughout our world’s history. According to professor Merry N. Miller, MD, the professor and interim chair of the department of psychiatry at the James H. Quillen College of medicine at East Tennessee State University, “The history of eating disorders can be traced back to the ancient Greeks and Egyptians” (Pumariega 96). People with eating disorders generally lead miserable, unhealthy lives, but are commonly unable to get themselves out of them without professional help and therapy. Eating disorders are very varied in types; some don’t even have specific names and are put into one obtuse category. These eating disorders are most often caused by multiple factors, ranging from socioeconomic status, genetics, and a psychological obsession with food. However, regardless of types, all eating disorders have negative impacts on the individual, in various aspects such as health implications, social skills, and even intelligence.…
- 1805 Words
- 8 Pages
Better Essays -
Anorexia Nervosa is extreme thinness or unwillingness to maintain normal, healthy weight. It can also be describe as an extreme fear of gaining weight and erroneous body image with self-esteem and a predisposed by perceptions of weight and…
- 1679 Words
- 7 Pages
Powerful Essays -
(2002)APA Council of Representatives. Guidelines on multicultural education, training, research, practice, and organizational change for psychologists. [Electronic version] http://www.apa.org/pi/multiculturalguidelines.pdf…
- 1645 Words
- 7 Pages
Powerful Essays -
Multicultural is a very big controversy when it comes to psychology. There is much diversity that comes along with dealing with multicultural psychology. Psychologists are trained to deal with much different diversity. All individuals exist in social, political, historical, and economic contexts, and psychologists are increasingly called upon to understand the influence of these contexts on individuals ' behavior in society. (“Guidelines “, 2003) In many different generations, there has been much diversity in the workplace. The biggest diversity in the workplace is stereotypes. Many people just like to assume things about a person without getting to know them.…
- 845 Words
- 4 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
In watching the film “Dying to be thin” my understanding of anorexia was changed in a couple of ways. One way was that to be a dancer you are expected to be 15% below average body weight. This shocks me because the diagnostic criteria for being anorexic is being 15% below average body weight. Another aspect of anorexia that I did not know about is that the onset generally happens around the time of puberty. Treating eating disorders with a group of people with different eating disorders and multiple doctors is surprising to me because I wouldn’t have thought that group therapy would be affective because people with eating disorders do not see them self’s as skinny so if there are people there who are skinnier then themselves I would think that would make them feel worst and want to lose more weight. But having people around you sharing similar stories of pain and suffering that are similar to their own stories could inspire them to become better as a group rather than being alone in the struggle. The different individuals in the film surprised me because I was surprised that people could be anorexic from exercising more calories than they consume. This film has clarified to me what bulimics look like. Previously I had assumed that bulimics would look similar to anorexic as opposed to being of average weight. Anorexia in the dancing community is still looked away from today, this film is making a good attempt to educate people of the silent suffering that these people have to go through to feel fulfilled and to feel attractive. Being as deadly as this disorder can be people need to educate people of these eating disorders and try to prevent them.…
- 294 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
Multicultural is defined by having many ways of knowing about something/ethnic group, or having many different world views. It is usually complex and contextual. Multicultural psychology examines ways of how culture effects the way people act, think, and feel. Multicultural psychology is defined as the systematic study of cognition, behaviors, and the effects of it in different setting where people of different backgrounds or ethnic groups interact (Hall & Barongan 2010). Culture is an external factor because it influences the events that occur around us and our interactions with other people, but on the flip side of things,…
- 1874 Words
- 8 Pages
Powerful Essays -
Using the Gibb categories give three examples of defensive and or supportive behaviors that Ben and Katie used in the film.…
- 929 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
According to guidelines #1 and #2 in the American Psychological Association’s Guidelines for multicultural education, training, research, practice and organizational change for psychologists (2003) psychologists should be aware that they hold differing attitudes and beliefs that can detrimentally influence individuals of different cultures and also that it is important to be culturally sensitive and understanding of individuals of different cultures and to be knowledgeable of those cultures.…
- 865 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
America is known as a melting pot of different people and diverse cultures. Millions of people flock to the United States every year to live their American dream or escape an institution that is unstable. With the rush of people from all over the world coming to America, there are many psychological differences and similarities between people. The situations that people are brought up in helps mold their psychological growth and development.…
- 1289 Words
- 6 Pages
Better Essays -
Behaviours associated with eating disorders such as bingeing and purging are becoming meaningful expressions of particular culture features. An appearance of eating disorders in a given society is read as evidence of social change, a velar sign that Westernization and modernization are underway and that individual in these societies are becoming increasingly acculturated to modern western values(Chamorro and Florez 2000)…
- 3084 Words
- 13 Pages
Best Essays