Background Of The Interviewee
The lady I interviewed, we will call her D, grew up in a mostly Jewish community. She attended a Jewish school and sang in their youth choir. She said she did not notice differences as pronounced as she does her in the state of Utah, which is predominantly Mormon. D said the first time she remembers noticing a difference was during Christmas when other people had trees and visited Santa Claus, and she did not. Growing up her school would be closed on major Jewish holidays, but after moving to Utah, she said they had to advocate for their children to make sure significant tests and other events were not held on those days, and she had to make sure her children were not reprimanded for being absent on those days. D was born in America, but her mother was French. Hence, she went back and forth between France over the summers and America during the rest of the year. She said attending Jewish summer camps in France was a great experience and helped bolster her religious beliefs. Having half her family in another country, even within her community growing up, was considered “exotic.” D said her father’s family came to America before the 1900s and so they were pretty Americanized by the time she came around. As a Jew, she attends Shabbat weekly, and religious holidays were a time to get together with her father’s large extended family. She said they felt more like family get-togethers than spiritual experiences. “Currently, she and her husband have a strong relationship. She said they saw their parents have a strong partnership, and they wanted to have that as well. Both their mothers worked outside the home and were very driven, even for their time. Both D and her husband work, share household chores, and share childcare.
The Interviewee's Willingness to Share Information
I would say that D was relatively open with me considering I am a stranger she was introduced to me through her Rabbi, who was, in turn, introduced to me through the Rabbi I spoke with during my experience at my local synagogue. She was very willing to talk with me for this project, though one of the questions she said she did not understand how they have a relationship with her culture. D did not share anything overtly personal and did not get too deep, but she did mention that answering these questions were somewhat tricky because of all the nuances in their religion. She said that she did not like being the sole representative of her culture, as her views are her own. When I spoke with the Rabbi, he had said that Judaism is different than other religions, because they do not go out trying to convert everyone, instead he said, the viewpoint is that everyone was created in God’s image, if they are happy believing what they want to think then who are they to try and take away that happiness. It would seem that Judaism is a rather private religion and culture.
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Culture Events
She said she did not experience much discrimination as a child because she was in a dominantly Jewish community and went to a Jewish school, and she said she had not experienced any overt discrimination. She did say, however, that since moving to Utah, she has experienced subtle discrimination. The majority culture/religion here in Utah is Mormon (Latter-Day Saints). As a working woman, she said she had been told she should be at home caring for her children. She said she has always been in traditionally “male” roles, such as banking and finance, and now as a business owner. She also spoke at work when things like important meetings were scheduled on Jewish holidays, her supervisors did not understand why she was going to be absent and why that was not negotiable for her.D said that she feels no desire to assimilate with the majority culture and that some of the laws that come from the majority culture in the area are frustrating because they conflict with their lifestyle, such as the alcohol laws here in Utah. D also mentioned that she often feels like she is on display because Jewish people are seen as “different.” She said she does not have any feelings of anger, nor does she feel oppressed by the majority culture here in Utah.
Client’s Level Of Culture Sensitivity
She is pretty acculturated, and I believe it is because she was born here in America, she was not an immigrant here, and only one of her parents was an immigrant here, so she had grown up with both Jewish identity and American identity. I could tell she was very comfortable with her cultural identity. She very confidently told me that she has “spent her life being true to herself. Period” and I believed her. She was unapologetic about her beliefs and her experiences. In regards to being acculturated by the majority here in Utah, rather than just the American culture, the answer would be no. She has expressed, in her words, “Zero” desire to assimilate majority Mormon cultures and values into her life, which also helped to see how comfortable she was with her cultural identity and how strong that identity is to her.
Emotional Response
At first, I was excited to have someone to answer these questions. Then it was down to business. I felt surprised at specific answers I received, and yet, as she said, she does not represent the entire cultural group of all Jewish people, and so I knew that many of her answers would be individualistic. I was very appreciative that she was willing to let me interview her, and I think I reacted that was because, through my own childhood experiences, I am not used to people cooperating with me so readily and friendly. Through my adult life, however, I have become very aware that most people who have strong faith beliefs, no matter what they are, are willing to talk with someone about them if they ask.
Additional Knowledge
I knew from part 2 of this assignment and speaking with the Rabbi at the synagogue I went to, that there was discrimination. The Rabbi himself had experienced death threats and other types of overt discrimination against himself and his synagogue. With D, I was pleasantly surprised that she did not have to experience so much discrimination in her life. I did know that Mormons have specific beliefs, and they are trained to believe everyone else is wrong. As there is so few of the “everyone else” category around Utah, I am not surprised at the subtle discrimination she has faced, though with how many Mormon moms and women I see working, and work with myself, I was surprised at the sexist comment she had received for being a working mom. I also knew from my conversation with the Rabbi that Jewish people as a whole tend to be more progressive and left on the political spectrum, but D put some good wording to it that helped me understand a bit more. She said that because they are a minority, they tend to sympathize with the plights of other minorities such as LGBTQ+, people of color, and those that face more obstacles than they do.
Counseling Theory
Cognitive behavior theory enables patients to understand the thoughts and feelings that influence behavior ( Wilhelm et al., 2019). However, it should integrate the spiritual framework to be culturally sensitive while dealing with the Jews. On the other hand, the real theory of counseling emphasizes problem-solving and making well-informed decisions to achieve specific decisions like quitting drug abuse. The person-centered theory, which entails narration of the problem to find a solution, is also another vital theoretical counseling model that can suit culture-sensitive people such as the Jews ( Knutson & Koch, 2019). Miracle questions is a technique that involves asking the client questions that are supposed to help them envision how the future is likely to change without the challenges. It is suitable for a culture-sensitive group such as the Jews.
It is critical to understand that Jews are culturally sensitive, and therefore ethics and legal issues should be of great importance during the session. For instance, avoiding biasness and stereotyping as well as avoiding conflicts are some of the ethical and legal issues that should be considered. Asking sensitive questions that are against the culture, religion, and discriminating either of the genders can result in ethical and legal consequences. Consents, confidentiality, remaining neutral and avoiding oppressive and stereotyping terms while counseling the Jews is an essentially ethical and legal essential for a counselor.
Importance Of Multicultural
The Jewish traits are founded on the belief in their religion and identity as the Jewish people. Their friendliness and the family-oriented characters have the foundation on the Torah laws. They like justice and equity to prevail as they feel that they are the chosen religion by God. Jewish are against stereotyping and are welcoming, contrary to the myth that these people are greedy ( Hilert& Tirado, 2019). Family is the strong bond that ties them together into the religion, and they have specific gender roles that have their foundation on the Jewish religion.
In the present world, where people interact closely due to constant traveling and technology, remaining ethically and culturally sensitive is critical because it allows a counselor to meet, interact and also understand many people despite the cultural barrier ( Özerk&Özerk, 2019). As a counselor, making a client feels welcomed, less discriminated is critical in achieving counseling goals. Therefore, culture-sensitive widen the scope of practice and also enhances ethical sensitivity, and this increases the quality of services by the counselor.
Strengths Or Elements Of Common Grace
They are caring people who believe in the first five books of the Bible, which they call the Torah. These are the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. They believe in one God, the Father, and they have a strong sense of community. They also think just as Christians do that all people are created in God’s image. They do not, however, believe that Jesus is our savior, the Messiah, and the son of God. They do not deny Jesus’s existence as man, but they deny he is the son of God. We would learn about their humility and honesty, and about their willingness to be social advocates for those that need help. The Bible tells us that we should be helping others. Philippians 2:4 (ESV) says, “Let each of you look not only to his interests, but also to the interests of others,” and Proverbs 19:17: Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed”. These passages tell us that how the Jewish culture helps other minorities and stands for social justice being something we should be open to learning from them about with humility. They are also God’s people from the Bible, and even though as a Catholic I believe that Jesus came to fulfill the prophecies of the old testament, and move the faith into a new chapter, they are still a culture that represents the beliefs that Jesus grew up around, as God’s people. As a Catholic, Judaism is our heritage I and I think it is a beautiful thing that as followers of Jesus, we should know more about to help us understand Him and His actions better.
The Interesting Part
I think that the part where I attended the Erev Shabbat services at a Synagogue made me closer to these people and allowed me time to understand them and their culture. It made me understand them more. During this event, I got first-hand experience of Jewish culture and traditions. I also got a chance to talk to some of them who helped me during the services and got to understand them more. I understood their friendliness and non-discriminative culture. It was such experiences that made me understand that all the allegations about their greediness and their wealth are mere allegations with no factual foundations.
References
Hilert, A. J., & Tirado, C. (2019). Teaching multicultural counseling with mindfulness: A contemplative pedagogy approach. International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling , 41 (4), 469-480.
Knutson, D., & Koch, J. M. (2019). Person-centered therapy as applied to work with transgender and gender diverse clients. Journal of Humanistic Psychology , 0022167818791082.
Özerk, M., &Özerk, K. (2019). Multicultural settings and school psychological services—a Norwegian experience with developing competency in multicultural counseling. Contemporary School Psychology , 1-13.
Wilhelm, S., Phillips, K. A., Greenberg, J. L., O’Keefe, S. M., Hoeppner, S. S., Keshaviah, A., ... &Schoenfeld, D. A. (2019). Efficacy and posttreatment effects of therapist-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy vs supportive psychotherapy for adults with body dysmorphic disorder: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA psychiatry , 76 (4), 363-373.
