cultural misunderstandings
Cultural Misunderstandings
Darcy Lingg
PSYC3540 – Culture, Ethnicity & Diversity
Capella University
March 2014
My example of a cultural misunderstanding is between a doctor and a Chinese patient.
Are you drinking plenty of fluids?
< Patient thoughts: I wonder why he is asking me that, what it is with these people and water > I don’t like the water here. It’s too cold. I don’t know what’s wrong with people here that they drink that. Really??? And what happens when you drink the cold water?
< Patients thoughts: What does he mean, what happens? Everyone knows that drinking cold water is not good for you. Maybe I should see a different doctor.> I hate cold water; I put it in the microwave to heat it up before I can drink it. In this case, the cultural misunderstanding occurred when the doctor failed to understand that some cultures learn and believe from an early age that drinking cold water can be detrimental to the body and they are discouraged from drinking it (Fauzi, 2008). This resulted in the patient becoming dehydrated because he was hesitant to drink the tap water as it was much cooler that they were used to. The patient found it inconvenient or impossible to heat water up at work or at school where there was no access to a microwave, so he just didn’t drink at all. Even without this knowledge, the doctor could go on to make suggestions of other liquids besides cold water that he could substitute to keep him well hydrated. However, knowing this information could have prevented him from making the patient feel awkward or uncomfortable.
These misunderstandings cross over into the psychotherapeutic process as well. Misunderstandings happen from many reasons including but not limited to a lack of cultural knowledge, and inability or desire to see and understand differences in others as well as in ourselves. Specific clinicians, known as Universalist clinicians tackle these issues under the pretense that these cultural
Darcy Lingg
PSYC3540 – Culture, Ethnicity & Diversity
Capella University
March 2014
My example of a cultural misunderstanding is between a doctor and a Chinese patient.
Are you drinking plenty of fluids?
< Patient thoughts: I wonder why he is asking me that, what it is with these people and water > I don’t like the water here. It’s too cold. I don’t know what’s wrong with people here that they drink that. Really??? And what happens when you drink the cold water?
< Patients thoughts: What does he mean, what happens? Everyone knows that drinking cold water is not good for you. Maybe I should see a different doctor.> I hate cold water; I put it in the microwave to heat it up before I can drink it. In this case, the cultural misunderstanding occurred when the doctor failed to understand that some cultures learn and believe from an early age that drinking cold water can be detrimental to the body and they are discouraged from drinking it (Fauzi, 2008). This resulted in the patient becoming dehydrated because he was hesitant to drink the tap water as it was much cooler that they were used to. The patient found it inconvenient or impossible to heat water up at work or at school where there was no access to a microwave, so he just didn’t drink at all. Even without this knowledge, the doctor could go on to make suggestions of other liquids besides cold water that he could substitute to keep him well hydrated. However, knowing this information could have prevented him from making the patient feel awkward or uncomfortable.
These misunderstandings cross over into the psychotherapeutic process as well. Misunderstandings happen from many reasons including but not limited to a lack of cultural knowledge, and inability or desire to see and understand differences in others as well as in ourselves. Specific clinicians, known as Universalist clinicians tackle these issues under the pretense that these cultural
References: Angelou, M. (2012). Addressing cultural differences in the psychotheraputic process . Retrieved from http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/50449_ch_4.pdf Fauzi, S. (2008). Doctor meets patient: The effect of cultural memory on the medical interview. Retrieved from http://www.uta.edu/modl/cultural-constructions/200705/html/fauzi.html Marcos, L. R. (1979). Effects of interpreters on the evaluation of psychotherapy in non-English-speaking patients. American Journal of Psychiatry, 136, 171-174.