FAMILY
According to Sue and Sue (2008), Arab Americans honor the family and believe in its importance as a primary obligation. Equally important is the "interdependence among (family) members" (Sue ">IMPLICATIONS IN COUNSELING
Understanding the unique roles of the family is important when working with Arab Americans. These roles may pose challenges for counselors with individualist or feminist values that determine all people should have freedom of expression and personal choice without the approval of one authoritative family member. Counseling Arab Americans may present other unique challenges as well. For example, they may fear that the counselor and the process of counseling may jeopardize their traditional values from exposure to conflicting American morals and beliefs (Mackay, 1992). The counselor must establish a therapeutic environment that will not threaten the family, especially the father. Counseling Arab American women may pose problems
For counselors, it is important to learn about the culture's traditions and worldviews that deeply affect the lives of Arab Americans. Seeking the truth about Muslims is perhaps more important than other religions because of the fear and stereotypes provoked by American propaganda. For example, Islamic doctrine states that women have rights and freedoms separate from their husbands (Haselhurst & Howie, 2011). When counseling any group with unique cultural contexts, acknowledging personal bias is critical to work effectively and in a non-discriminatory manner (Sue & Sue, 2008). Non-Arab Americans are have little accurate information about the Arab culture. Mental health counselors should not hesitate to "collaborate with them to gain an understanding of their lifestyle and beliefs" (Sue & Sue, 2008, p. 414).
REFERENCES
Haselhurst, G., & Howie, K. (2011). Introduction to Islamic Religion & Arabic Philosophers. Islam Muslim: Islamic Religion, History, Beliefs. Quran / Koran, Mohammed Quotes. Retrieved July 3, 2012, from
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