Culture and Identity: Life Stories for Counselors and Therapists / Edition 2

by Anita Jones Thomas, Sara E. Schwarzbaum

Overview

Culture and Identity by Anita Jones Thomas and Sara E. Schwarzbaum engages students with autobiographical stories that show the intersections of culture as part of identity formation. The easy-to-read stories centered on such themes as race, ethnicity, gender, class, religion, sexual orientation, and disability tell the real-life struggles with identity development, life events, family relationships, and family history. The Third Edition includes an expanded framework model that encompasses racial socialization, oppression, and resilience. New discussions of timely topics include race and gender intersectionality, microaggressions, enculturation, cultural homelessness, risk of journey, spirituality and wellness, and APA guidelines for working with transgendered individuals.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781412986687
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	10/12/2010
Edition description:	Second Edition
Pages:	375
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Anita Jones Thomas, Ph D, is a counseling psychologist with specializations in multicultural counseling and family therapy, and is currently an Dean and Professor of the School of Psychological Sciences at the University of Indianapolis. She received a bachelor’s degree in human development and social policy from Northwestern University and a master’s degree in community counseling from Loyola University Chicago. Her doctorate in counseling psychology was received from Loyola University Chicago. Her research interests include critical consciousness, and racial identity, racial socialization, and parenting issues for African Americans. She has also conducted training seminars and workshops on multicultural issues for state and national professional organizations in counseling and psychology, hospitals, and corporations and has served as a consultant for human service organizations. Dr. Thomas has served and chaired the Committee on Children, Youth, and Families of the American Psychological Association, and the Task Force on Resilience and Strength and Black Children and Adolescents, and is on the board for the Society for Child and Family Policy and Practice.

Sara Schwarzbaum, Ed D, LMFT, LCPC, is a retired Professor in the department of Counselor Education and a coordinator of the Master’s in Couple and Family Counseling Program at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago. She is also the founder of Couples Counseling Associates in Chicago. She has a master’s degree in clinical psychology from Buenos Aires, Argentina and doctoral degree in counseling with an emphasis in family therapy from Northern Illinois University. She has written articles that have appeared in the Psychotherapy Networker, Counseling Today and other publications. She is a consultant, trainer, and presenter at state and national conferences where she frequently conducts workshops on clinical issues with Latino clients, the multicultural competency of clinicians, psychotherapy with immigrants and families, and marriage counseling.

Table of Contents

Preface
1. Framework
Human Development
Development of the Self
Contextual Dimensions of the Self
Shifting Selves
SECTION I: RACE/ETHNICITY
2. Julie's Story: So What if I'm a Black Woman?
Julie's Story
Content Themes
Clinical Applications
Toolbox Activity—Julie
3. Butch's Story: Who Am I?
Butch's Story
Content Themes
Clinical Applications
Toolbox Activity—Butch
4. Beth's Story: I Am 100% Jewish
Beth's Story
Content Themes
Clinical Applications
Toolbox Activity—Beth
5. Maribel's Story: When Are You Going to Have Kids?
Maribel's Story
Content Themes
Clinical Applications
Toolbox Activity—Maribel
SECTION II: IMMIGRATION/ACCULTURATION
6. Vu's Story: I Am an American
Vu's Story
Content Themes
Clinical Applications
Toolbox Activity—Vu
7. Esteban's Story: Still Uprooted
Esteban's Story
Content Themes
Clinical Applications
Toolbox Activity—Esteban
8. Maria Luz's Story: Here We Are Not Free
Maria Luz's Story
Content Themes
Clinical Applications
Toolbox Activity—Maria Luz
9. Teresa's Story: I Didn't Want to Go to Church on Sunday
Teresa's Story
Content Themes
Clinical Applications
Toolbox Activity—Teresa
SECTION III: RELIGION
10. Frank's Story: Hearing God's Voice
Frank's Story
Content Themes
Clinical Applications
Toolbox Activity—Frank
11. Bob's Story: The Good Christian Son
Bob's Story
Content Themes
Clinical Applications
Toolbox Activity—Bob
12. Katie's Story: Catholic and Jewish: How Can It Be?
Katie's Story
Content Themes
Clinical Applications
Toolbox Activity—Katie
SECTION IV: SOCIAL CLASS
13. Carla's Story: One More Mile
Carla's Story
Content Themes
Clinical Applications
Countertransference
Toolbox Activity—Carla
14. Anthony's Story: From Radical to Bohemian to Suit to Me
Anthony's Story
Content Themes
Clinical Applications
Toolbox Activity—Anthony
Appendix
References
Index
About the Authors

Editorial Reviews

"Culture and Identity: Life Stories for Counselors and Therapists, by the prominent psychologists Anita Jones Thomas and Sara Schwarzbaum, is a brilliant revolution in our way of looking at culture and identity through an understanding of diverse people's diverse life stories. Reading each character's story helps us learn how distinct each individual life is and how rich and diverse our world is. It packs rich and diverse information derived from firsthand, and intimate stories. This book would surely benefit countless readers at different levels and stages, students, teachers, people who want to know about their cultural background and identity, therapists, and the list goes on. "

Ruth Chao

Thomas and Schwarzbaum’s delicate handling of the sensitive topic of multicultural counseling in the text Culture and Identity: Life Stories for Counselors and Therapists is a must read for students and therapists who wish to increase their knowledge, skills, and understanding of the dynamics of a rapidly changing multicultural world.

Merrill T. Reese

"The manuscript is, indeed, very easy to read - the personal narratives really get you into the experience of the writer...The wonderful richness of the personal narrative is a grand strength, and providing Clinical Applications that address the narratives helps get the reader to think beyond just simple "difference. "...This book offers so much in the way of personal narrative and helping students to understand the lives of those who are different. This is an enriching addition to the existing multicultural textbook arena. "

Suzanne Degges-White

The authors provide readers with compelling narratives that are both powerful and informative. The book is well organized and helps the reader identify important content themes and interventions necessary to work with diverse populations. I would highly recommend this text to counselor trainees and students interested in working from a culturally mindful perspective!

Jason Vasquez

Thomas and Schwarzbaum’s life story approach offers students and trainees an inclusive, sensitive, and progressive means of evaluating cultural identity development. Their rich collection of narratives generates valuable insights into the intersection of a diverse array of cultural factors that foster cultural identity growth. Students and trainees who read this text will gain fresh perspectives on how their therapeutic approach can be used to help clients cultivate and bolster a personally meaningful cultural identity.

Jeff Kilbert