socioeconomic status and class identity
Discussion Questions
- When working with a client of different socioeconomic status and class identity, it is common for psychologists to make certain assumptions. For instance, poor people do not work. During psychotherapy, I may assume and cite unlivable minimum wages as a contribution to poverty, which is not true since a lot of poor people today are working. Psychologists also often think that poor people have more problems than their wealthier counterparts. Clients of low socioeconomic status may be concerned about insufficient food, or other issues that wealthy clients never mention. Therefore, I may assume that such are problems of social work and not psychotherapy. I may also consider behaviors, for instance, when a client misses’ appointment, to be resistant to treatment, which is likely to be due to transportation obstacles. In a Journal of clinical psychology (2013), psychologists revealed common stereotypes of poor people as lazy, violent, and dirty.
There are certain personal biases I would need to process as a psychologist. For example, I tend to approve information that aligns with what I believe and ignore the other. I also think that women are not as strong as men and that women are likely to share their problems than men.
Effective psychotherapy is about asking directive questions. I would as my client questions such as what brings you here? Have you ever seen a counselor before? What is the problem from your viewpoint? How do you feel about the problem? How many times do you experience the problem?
During psychotherapy, I would want to understand if something is going on in the client’s life that pushed the client to make an appointment with me. I would also want to know how the client is coping and if the client ever attended therapy before.
Regarding my interest and motivation to practice psychotherapy, I am sure to feel comfortable and confident with the client. My first therapy may be slightly challenging, but I am sure to be comfortable around the client.
The role of therapists Is to support their clients fully become who they are. I begin therapy by getting to understand and know the client and their problem fully. To introduce the theme of identity, I would start by professing and confessing about myself to the client and then ask questions that lead to self-inquiry.
To be more comfortable, I would need to work on my verbal skills, interpersonal perception, warmth and acceptance, and empathy.
- Empathy, optimism, flexibility, persuasive, and convincing. I believe I developed understanding because of my socio-economic background. As a result, I acquired the ability to listen to people and developed patience because I had to work hard to achieve everything, which also explains the reasons for flexibility.