Abstract
In this study, we adopted a single qualitative case study method to explore and examine indigenous approaches to crisis counseling in Taiwan, through the distinct lens of an expert Taiwanese counseling psychologist. In-depth, open-ended interviews were conducted with the psychologist (as the case) to document her lived clinical experiences counseling a grief-stricken Taiwanese family in crisis (as the context). Using open-code data analysis, five cultural themes were abstracted from the interviews: a) significance of counselor’s authority and expertness; b) primacy of client-counselor rapport and relationship; c) centrality of collective familism; d) observance of indigenous grief response and process; and e) adherence to face-saving communication and interpersonal patterns. Implications for implementing crisis counseling practice and research with native Taiwanese/Chinese clients based on these preliminary findings are discussed.
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Acknowledgment
The authors want to express their gratitude to Dr. Jeeseon Park’s feedback on a previous draft of this manuscript. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 2009 American Psychological Association Annual Convention in Toronto, Ontario.
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Kuo, B.C.H., Hsu, WS. & Lai, NH. Indigenous Crisis Counseling in Taiwan: An Exploratory Qualitative Case Study of an Expert Therapist. Int J Adv Counselling 33, 1–21 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10447-010-9108-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10447-010-9108-y