The unmet need: Addressing spirituality and meaning through culturally sensitive communication and intervention Book Section
| Authors: | Gibson, C. A.; Pessin, H.; McLain, C. S.; Shah, A. D.; Breitbart, W. |
| Editors: | Moore, R. J.; Spiegel, D. |
| Article/Chapter Title: | The unmet need: Addressing spirituality and meaning through culturally sensitive communication and intervention |
| Abstract: | (from the chapter) As humans, we all experience various stressors throughout our lives. Serious illnesses, such as cancer, often engender severe stress and tax an individual's ability to function at all levels. An important question is how are humans able to incorporate such stressful situations into their lives without allowing them to interrupt or destroy their ability to function? Research has begun pointing to the value and importance of spiritual and religious mechanisms in individuals facing serious illness, especially as to how they give meaning to the situation presenting itself to the individual. As with all psychological phenomena, cross-cultural factors play a major role in shaping how the individual creates and utilizes such mechanisms. Each culture has its own, unique, set of beliefs about the meaning of illness and culturally appropriate responses to it. However, Kinzie, has noted that Western clinicians "are dominated by value systems of clinical humanistic psychology which promote self-aggrandizement and self-satisfaction, autonomy and rejection of authority, relativity in values, situational ethics, apology (rather than restitution), and avoidance of long-term relationships and responsibility". These values often differ from the values of other cultures, and can pose treatment and communication obstacles. Clinicians who are insensitive to patient's cultural and ethnic values and beliefs are often viewed as being rude, ignorant or uncaring. This chapter gives the clinician guidelines on communicating with culturally and ethnically diverse patients about spirituality. It also describes the current interventions aimed at enhancing the role of spirituality and meaning in patient's lives in the face of their illnesses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved). |
| Keywords: | meaning; religion; spirituality; interventions; therapeutic processes; cancer; serious illnesses; cross cultural treatment; cultural sensitivity; clinician guidelines |
| Book Title: | Cancer, Culture, and Communication |
| ISBN: | 978-0-306-47885-7 |
| Publisher: | Kluwer Academic Publishers |
| Publication Place: | New York, NY |
| Date Published: | 2004-01-01 |
| Start Page: | 281 |
| End Page: | 298 |
| Language: | English |
| ACCESSION: | Book: 2004-00185-012 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/0-306-48007-7_12 |
| PROVIDER: | Ovid Technologies |
| PROVIDER: | psycinfo |
| DOI/URL: | |
| Notes: | Book chapter 12 -- Moore, Rhonda J [Ed ; Spiegel, David [Ed -- xxii, 317 -- Source: PsycINFO |
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