Asian supremacists?
People in psychotherapy change at different rates. Most often I find that this relates to numerous factors. It may for instance be related to the age at which a trauma occurred, complexity of current life situation and influences, interplay of personality characteristics, and so forth.
I use a puzzle metaphor to explain various aspects of the therapeutic process.
What takes place in treatment is similar to putting together a puzzle. There’s a catch to the whole process though. It’s as if we have all kinds of puzzle pieces for a puzzle and we don’t have the original picture from the puzzle box to guide us. There is something very interesting about the mind along these lines. It has been examined from Gestalt psychology with a process that is called “closure.” The idea of closure is that the mind fills in the gaps to produce a “unified whole” or a Gestalt. As we’re putting together the puzzle pieces about how you can become the person you want to become, more of the picture is obtained. There is a point at which adding just one more puzzle piece allows the mind to form a Gestalt and mentally see the final outcome. Once that happens, everything becomes clear as to the direction needed.
And this process also takes place on an unconscious level. The mind has built in self-corrective measures and begins searching for these corrective measures during psychotherapy. Automatically, while we are asleep and dreaming, or we are staring off into space thinking about nothing in particular, the mind continues this process.
I also use this metaphor to explain why some people are able to change rather rapidly and others take much longer.
Some people’s problems are like a puzzle that a young child might be able to put together. It may only have 8 pieces, and it only takes putting a couple of pieces together to get the Gestalt of the picture. Others are like a 1000 piece puzzle. This type of puzzle takes a great deal more searching, effort, and trial and error. It takes longer to be able to get that feeling of making progress. It takes longer to get the Gestalt of the picture.
Each individual has his or her own unique way of changing. Some patient’s will put most of the puzzle together before they make a single change. They have to know what the full picture is before they feel comfortable in changing. Sometimes this process happens completely unconsciously. Others are very deliberate, and utilize a great deal of conscious effort in placing each piece and make a shift or change with each piece that is connected.
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institutional racism and health
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v To what ethnic group do you belong? What do you formally call your ethnic group? How much do you know about your ethnic group? Where did you get the information? How much of your information was written by or told to you by members of your own ethnic group? Do those accounts vary from what your family told you? In what way?
v Does your family belong to more than one ethnic group? Are you familiar with the history of all of those groups? Why not? Are you interested in finding out more? How will you begin?
v How proud are you of your ethnic group? Are there times you feel ashamed of your group? If so, what triggers those feelings of shame? What are the main ethnic stereotypes of your group? How are you different from those stereotypes? How are you the same?
v Are all of the members of your family the same skin colour? Do they vary in skin shade? Do they vary in hair texture? Do they vary in body type? Does your family prize a particular body type or physical characteristic? Is there one body type or physical characteristic that is devalued in your family? How did this happen? What happens to the people in your family who have this characteristic? Has anyone ever been favored or abused because of certain physical characteristics? Have you ever had these experiences?
v Has anyone in your family ever expressed shame about your ethnic group? How did you respond? How did others respond? Has anyone ever confessed a racist or discriminatory act toward member(s) of another ethnic group? Does anyone use derogatory language toward members of your own ethnic group? Has anyone ever been the victim of discrimination because they were members of your ethnic group? Has anyone in your family ever experienced privilege because they belonged to your ethnic group? Have you ever had these experiences?
v Have you ever been rejected in personal relationships because you belonged to your ethnic group? Has anyone ever accepted you solely because you were a member of your ethnic group? Have you ever rejected a personal relationship because of the ethnic group of the person?
v Have you ever been a victim of racial discrimination? Have you ever been a victim of racial harassment? Have you ever been a victim of racial abuse? Did you fight back? How? Describe that experience? Were you successful?
v Have you ever been a victim of racialized traumatic abuse? (victim of physical abuse, sexual abuse, torture, imprisonment, because of your race or cultural group) Describe how you survived? What helped to get you through this experience?
v Do you find yourself feeling prejudiced against certain members of your cultural group? What are their characteristics? Where did those feelings originate? Why do you think they persist in you? How do you benefit from this prejudice? Do you want to change it? Why? Why not?
v How assertive are you with members of your own ethnic group when you do not agree with their point of view? Are there ways in which you vastly differ from members of your ethnic group? In what ways? How did the difference evolve? Have you ever been shamed for that difference? Why? Have you been valued for that difference? Why?
v Would you date or marry someone outside your cultural group? Why? Why not? Have you had romantic or sexual feelings toward members of another cultural group? Have you ever acted on these feelings? Why or why not?
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