logo

Case Study on Cross Cultural Counseling Competencies

   

Added on  2020-04-13

16 Pages4385 Words173 Views
Running head: CASE STUDY ON CROSS CULTURAL COUNSELING COMPETENCIESCase study on Cross Cultural Counseling CompetenciesName of the UniversityName of the StudentAuthor Note

1CASE STUDY ON CROSS CULTURAL COUNSELING COMPETENCIESIntroductionThere are numerous instances of neglect, discrimination, racism and prejudices againstcross-cultural people in most countries. It is important for a counselor to be culturally competentin order to deal with patients belonging to multicultural societies. People with different ethnicity,culture and social and sexual preferences comprise the vulnerable group. The LGBT communityis probably the most neglected section of the group (Bradshaw et al., 2015). The society hasneglected, discriminated and prejudiced them since the time of their origin. It is a sad truth thatno country in the world is free from this menace. Filmmakers of different nationalities haveportrayed these issues in their films. The given essay offers a deep insight into this issue taking the case of Harvey Milk, themain character from the movie ‘Milk’ that was released in the year 2008 (Imdb.com, 2017). It isbased on true events. The film portrays the life and struggles of gay people in the United Statesof America during the 1970s and 1980s. It also demonstrates the feelings and superior sensitivityof the gay people in comparison to other heterosexual individuals. In addition, the film showshow the then society expressed an attitude of disgust for the community. Harvey Milk’scharacter in the movie portrayed by Sean Penn demonstrates confidence and belief that a rightfulrepresentation of the LGBT in the higher ranks of the socio-political arena was necessary toaddress their issues justifiably. The essay tries to analyze the main character chosen for the case study and evaluate therequired competencies needed for counseling cross-cultural people. Further, it identifies themajor presenting problems that the character of Harvey Milk brings to counseling. The essayalso highlights the therapeutic approaches that can be effective in dealing with the character.

2CASE STUDY ON CROSS CULTURAL COUNSELING COMPETENCIESThis includes the possible challenges that the counselor might come across in professional andpersonal filed.Overview of Harvey Milk’s characterSean Penn, who plays the character of Harvey Milk in the movie, does complete justiceto it as he brings out the minutest emotions of a gay individual. Milk lived in an era when beinggay or lesbian was deemed illegal or semi-legal in most parts of the US. The general acceptancefor LGBT community was a myth in that era and many belonging to the community preferred tohide their sexual orientation. Milk too was conspicuous of his vulnerable position as a gay butgradually opened up after witnessing the increasing atrocities against the community. This aspectof his character may pose a difficulty to the counselors looking to communicate with him as aclient. It is because Milk, at that stage of his life he was reluctant to talk about his sexualpreferences. In addition, the 70s was an era that was extremely hostile to the LGBT communitythat would have made it difficult for the counselor to approach Milk openly. Milk strongly felt the need to have a voice at the higher ranks of politics that wouldrepresent the gay people and provide them justice (Donahue, 2014). He was very critical of thepolice brutality against homosexual men. The discrimination against the gay men prompted himto take steps towards voicing their troubles. A turning point came in Milk’s life when he metwith his long-time boyfriend, Scott Smith, played by James Franco, for the first time. He wasable to express his anger and emotions about his present situation and the overall condition ofgays to Scott. They both decided to move to San Francisco and be more open about theirrelationship. Milk was able to garner support from other gay men in the Castro locality of SanFrancisco. He devised plans to boycott businesses that were hostile to gay men. Gradually he

3CASE STUDY ON CROSS CULTURAL COUNSELING COMPETENCIESbegan organizing street speeches where good number of people attended to hear him. The chiefelements of his speeches included a call to the gay community to come out openly and supporthim in his endeavor to end the prejudices.To a counselor, approaching a client like Harvey Milk would not be easy, as he has to beunderstood in terms of his sexuality as well as his political interests. The counselor has to have athorough understanding of the issues relating to gays and the problems that confront them. Discrimination and prejudice displayed in the movieIn the opening scenes of the movie, the gay men are seen rounded up by the police andbeaten up. The gay men are shown hiding their faces out of embarrassment and shame while thepolice keep bashing them. The scene was shot in black and white reel with newspaper headlinesflashing attack on gay bars following it. It can be understood thus, from the opening scene itselfhow the gay people were discriminated and prejudiced (Baruth & Manning, 2016). In anotherscene, a liquor storeowner confronts Scott and Milk when they opened their camera shop atCastro Street in San Francisco and conveys his displeasure. He warns them that they are notallowed to do business there, as the police would not allow them. When Milk tells him that theyare not breaking any law, the storeowner coldly replies that the laws are meant for men only.This scene clearly depicts the prejudice against the gay people. The movie exhibits various other incidences that expose the brutality of prejudices anddiscrimination carried out against the gay community. In one of the narrations, a scene from1973 shows the unending atrocities of the police on gays as they carry on reining havoc on theirbars and other establishments. The fear amongst LGBT community reached to a level when gaymen decided to wear whistles and blow it whenever they witnessed any injustice done against

End of preview

Want to access all the pages? Upload your documents or become a member.

Related Documents
Film Review - LGBTQ Rights
|4
|773
|236