"The beauty of the world lies in the diversity of it's people"
One of these
things is culture. What is culture? The Cambridge English Dictionary defines it
as “the ideas, customs, and social behaviour of a
particular people or society” ("CULTURE | meaning in the Cambridge English
Dictionary", 2019) But I feel that this really puts a person into a single
box, when really, a person is so multifaceted because there are so many factors
that influence a person. I have always thought of it as a marriage between how
a person is raised, their personality, their belief system, and the ethnicity
of their family. All these aspects come into play, and it depends on how a
specific individual integrates them.
This really impacts on intervention as specific
cultural norms will dictate what type of activities a person can take part in
and their level of participation in these activities. An easy example of how it
would impact an intervention session is within the Hindu culture, there are
specific days and periods of time when Hindus fast. As an OT, we need to be
aware of this if part of our intervention plan is feeding or meal preparation. We
will need to work within the person’s times of fast or use an activity with
foods that they are allowed to eat during that time.
I had an experience with a young woman who believed her
stroke was a punishment from the ancestors for getting a divorce. This would
impact the way she approached our intervention sessions. She would be very
demotivated and often would say she could not do therapy because there was no
point as this was a punishment. As an OT, we need to be aware of the cultural
implications of a certain condition and convince the client that therapy is
still necessary and they need to actively participate. This needs to be done in
a way that does not dispute the client’s cultural beliefs as they are unlikely
to want to work with you if you are dismissive of them.
An easy way of ascertaining culture is by talking to
the client about his family and his routine. When asking about family, you can
ask about certain holidays the family celebrates, certain traditions the family
follows and by asking about weekly routine, many will tell you they have bible
study on certain days or that they go to church on a Sunday. This allows for
easy flow of the conversation and created a more informal setting, as if you
are just chatting to a client. I have found it is easier to get information
from a client when they are feeling like you are chatting to them, rather than
just “interviewing them,” and this specifically works for something as abstract
as culture.
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For my SCI client, when we spoke about culture, he said
that his family follows a traditional Zulu culture but integrates Christianity
with this. He says that they have specific rituals and ceremonies that are
deemed traditional (such as sacrifices to the ancestors), but they also follow
a Christian way of life in that they go to church every Sunday and celebrate
all the Christian holidays such as Easter, Ascension Day and Christmas. However,
my client has said he does not believe in Ancestors as his religion and
education have “enlightened” him, and that if you believe in God, you cannot
believe in ancestors punishing you. Even within one family group, there is
already a difference in culture.
I have always loved to explore topics such as religion
and culture with people I meet. It gives me a deeper understanding of a person,
the way they behave, their day to day life, and I have found that once an
interest is shown, people are very open to talk about it and how their specific
understanding of their culture is different to another person or another family
group. We learn by talking to one another.
I want to end off with a quote I found that summarizes this post.
"My culture is my identity and personality.It gives me spiritual, intellectual and emotional distinction from others, and I'm proud of it."
M.F. Moonzajer
CULTURE | meaning in the Cambridge English
Dictionary. (2019). Retrieved from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/culture
Culture GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY.
(2019). Retrieved from https://giphy.com/gifs/culture-HiH7djt1nXCOk
Talking GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY. (2019). Retrieved from https://giphy.com/gifs/talking-gGiQ2wkWGQZu8
gallerygogopix.net. (2019). Retrieved from http://ww12.gallerygogopix.net/
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