Abstract
Historically, humans always have moved acrossthe face of the earth, searching for adventureand fortune. With technological advancement incommunication and transportation, the flow ofimmigrants from developing countries todeveloped nations has intensified. Theyencounter numerous problems adjusting to a hostof cultural differences. Westernpsychotherapeutic professionals are challengedin their interventions with the increasinglylarge clientele. This article defines thenature and scope of the problem and suggestsways that modern counselors can integratetraditional healing styles and techniques withthose they normally use.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aizenman, N.C. (2000, November 25). Immigrants' bank fears add to their money woes. The Washington Post B1.
American Psychiatric Association (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
Armour, S. (2000, July 27). Immigrants become easy targets for abuse, harassment on the job. USA Today B1-B2.
Awanbor, D. (1982). The healing process in African psychotherapy. American Journal of Psychotherapy 36(2): 15-20.
Ayyub, R. (2000). Domestic violence in the South Asian Muslim population in the United States. Journal of Social Distress & the Homeless 9(3): 237-248.
Barkan, E.R. (1999). Immigration. In The World Book Encyclopedia (Vol. 10, pp. 80-86). Chicago: World Book.
Benyakar, M.,Kretsch, R. &Baruch, E. (1994). Mental health work with Gulf War evacuees: The use of a transitional therapeutic space. Israel Journal of Psychiatry & Related Sciences 31(2): 78-85.
Bernard, P. (1998). L'immigration: Les enjeux de l'intégration [Immigration: The stakes of integration]. Paris: Le Monde.
Ezembe, F. &Muanza, K. (1995). Les africains et l'emploi en France [Africans and employment in France]. Paris: Afrique Conseil.
Frank, J.D. (1963). Persuasion and healing. New York: Schocken Books.
Halifax, J. (1982). Shaman: The wounded healer. London: Thames and Hudson.
Hauff, E. & Vaglum (1995). Organized violence and the stress of exile: Predictors of mental health in a community cohort of Vietnamese refugees three years after resettlement. British Journal of Psychiatry 166(3): 360-367.
Hynes, M. &Cardozo, B.L. (2000). Sexual violence against refugee women. Journal of Women's Health & Gender-Based Medicine 9(8): 819-823.
Jones, C. (2000, December 20). Sudan's 'lost boys' find new homes, lives across the USA. USA Today A1-A2.
Katz, R. (1982). Boiling energy: Community healing among the Kalahari Kung. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Krippner, S. &Welch, P. (1992). Spiritual dimensions of healing. New York: Irvington Publishers.
Lamb. D. (1983). The Africans. New York: Vintage Books.
LeDuff, C. (2000, September 24). For migrants, hard work in hostile suburbs. The New York Times 1, 42.
Lefranc, C. &Thave, S. (1995). Les enfants d'immigrés: Emancipation familiale et professionelle [Immigrant children: Familial and professional independence]. INSEE-Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques [National institute of statistics and economic studies]. No. 601. Paris: France.
Marlin, O. (1994). Special issues in the analytic treatment of immigrants and refugees. Issues in Psychoanalytic Psychology 16(1): 7-16.
Martin, S.F.,Larkin, M.A. &Nathanson, M.N., eds. (2000). World migration report 2000. (United Nations Publication Sales No. E. 00.111.S.3). New York: International Organization for Migration and the United Nations.
Moyers, B. (1993). Healing and the mind. New York: Doubleday.
Nathan, T. (1988). Le sperme du diable: Éléments d' ethnopsychothérapie [The devil's sperm: Elements of ethnopsychotherapy]. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.
Nathan, T. (1993). Ethnopsy 93 [Ethnopsychiatry 93]. Nouvelle Revue d'Ethnopsychiatrie 20: 7-14.
Nathan, T. (1994). L'influence qui guérit [Healing influence]. Paris: Éditions Odile Jacob.
Schmidley, A.S. &Gibson, C. (1999). Profile of the foreign-born population in the United States (U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Reports, Series P23-195). Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.
Schneider, H. (2001, January 12). For Palestinian refugees, rhetoric confronts reality. The Washington Post A1, A21.
Scott, F.D. (1999). Immigration. In Encyclopedia Americana (Vol. 14, pp. 803-808). Danbury, CT: Grolier.
Slaby, A.E. (1989). Aftershock: Surviving the delayed effects of trauma, crisis and loss. New York: Villard Books.
Sowell, T. (1996). Migrations and cultures: A world view. New York: Basic Books.
Stalker, P. (1994). The work of strangers: A survey of international labour migration. Geneva: International Labour Office.
Taïeb, E. (1998). Immigrés: L'effet générations [Immigrants: Generational differences]. Paris: Les Éditions de L'Atelier/Les Éditions Ouvrières.
Tchetche, G.D. (1998). Psychiatrie en afrique noire et contexte socio-culturel [Psychiatry in sociocultural context in black Africa]. Paris: L'Harmattan.
Torry, E.F. (1986). Witchdoctors and psychiatrists: The common roots of psychotherapy and its future. New York: Harper & Row.
Triandis, H.C. (1994). Culture and social behavior. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Vontress, C.E. (1991). Traditional healing in Africa: Implications for cross-cultural counseling. Journal of Counseling and Development 70(1): 242-249.
Vontress, C.E. (1999). Interview with a traditional African healer. Journal of Mental Health Counseling 21(4): 326-336.
Vontress, C.E.,Johnson, J.A. &Epp, L.R. (1999). Cross-cultural counseling: A casebook. Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.
Wax, E. (2000, November 28). Lessons of inclusion. The Washington Post B1, B4.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Vontress, C.E. Cross-cultural counseling in the 21st century. International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling 23, 83–97 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010677807232
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010677807232