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When I train managers as coaches I always warn them to respect the power of coaching questions and to recognize the possibility that what starts as an innocuous, business related conversation, may lead to the unveiling of a deeper issue. Coaching managers would be advised to develop at least a little insight into the signs of abnormal psychology.
In this article we'll consider the significance of culture within the study of abnormal psychology. Could it be that the propensity, identification and treatment of mental disorders could be affected by matters such as race, religious conviction, etc?
Culture Bias in Diagnosis
Certainly in Britain - where I am based - there are research statistics showing differences in the prevalence rates for mental disorders between different ethnic or cultural groups.
Depression
Whilst common in our own culture, depression appears almost absent in Asian cultures, although this could be to do with the actual numbers of reported cases. Recent research (Rock, 1982) found that Asians tend to consult their doctors only for physical problems, seeing emotional distress as something to be sorted out within the family.
The symptoms of depression also vary. Whilst we might associate depression with feelings of low self-worth and hopelessness, Nigerians, for example would complain of burning sensations and bloating of the stomach (Ebigno, 1986).
Schizophrenia
There is some suggestion that British psychiatry is insensitive to cultural differences. Cochrane and Sashidharan (1995) found that African-Caribbean immigrants were up to 7 times more likely than white people to receive a diagnosis of schizophrenia. This was not found to be the case in other countries (Cardwell et al, 1996). Also, in a study by Nazroo (1997) it was found that the rate of schizophrenia among Caribbean men was found to be no greater than among white men, although they were five times more likely to be hospitalized.
Cultural Blindness
Most psychological therapists have been trained in theory and practice which have North American or Central European origins. There appears to be a common assumption that the behaviours of the white population are normative and that any deviation from this is indicative of racial or cultural pathology (Cochrane and Sashidharan, 1995).
Although white therapists are reluctant to believe that they may be racist, there is evidence to suggest that black people, for example, do not respond well to traditional methods of psychotherapy (Jones, 1985).
Cross race therapy can be very difficult and ideally clients should be given the choice to consult a therapist from their own cultural background if possible.
For me one conclusion to draw from all this is to question the arrogant Western view of the so-called 'developing' world. Developing in to what? Prozac munching, overweight neurotics?
What then of the coaching manager who stumbles upon such issues when coaching around workload management or time keeping? Best advice would seem to be to keep to good coaching principles. Ask questions designed to raise awareness, generate responsibility and build trust then listen carefully and attentively to the responses. This is highly unlikely to make things worse and may actually do quite a lot of good.
After that, it's a question of referring the coachee to the relevant professional. For this reason I recommend that all coaching managers familiarize themselves with their organization's welfare procedure.
Matt Somers is a coaching practitioner of many years' experience. He works with a host of clients in North East England where his firm is based and throughout the UK and Europe. Matt understands that people are working with their true potential locked away. He shows how coaching provides a simple yet elegant key to this lock. His popular mini-guide "Coaching for an Easier Life" is available FREE at http://www.mattsomers.com
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