Honor-Shame Response Paper
Sam Louie (2014) in the article focuses on James Lee, a Korean-American male, who is struggling with gambling and sexual addiction. Mr. Lee in the midst of his struggle chooses to ‘suffer in silence’ so as to save face, and maintain honor in his family. Upon disclosing about his addiction, Mr. Lee receives messages of criticism and scorn, as opposed to messages of support in the midst of his struggles. Mr. Lee’s family in this case, is focused on the shame, embarrassment, and stigma that their son’s behavior brings upon the family. Lee discloses that growing up, he received messages of “conditional love, shame, and the need to hide”. Unfortunately these affirmations have stuck with him, and may have contributed to…show more content… The distrust is mostly attributed to unfamiliarity and lack of access to psychotherapeutic services. In addition, individuals from these cultures strive for privacy and keeping family business within the family (Baptiste, 2005). Therapists working with this population should aim to increase the client’s trust in therapy by providing information about the rationale for therapy, what the therapeutic process entails expectations and goals for treatment, and the responsibilities for both the client and the therapist. The role induction process is likely to decrease defensiveness in therapy, and also foster trust in the therapeutic relationship and the therapeutic…show more content… In the case of the honor-shame culture, the counselor should be aware of the individual’s family roles, values, and the client’s view of family and relationships and how these factors affect their perception of honor and shame. By having an understanding of their value and belief system the therapist is able to understand the presenting problem from the client’s perspective. For example, when working with a student from an Asian culture, their definition of failure in class is different from that of an American student. This is because most Asian families’ value education and failure in academic performance is likely to evoke feelings of shame. Since most honor-shame cultures are communal, the failure in school is likely seen as a family affair and not just an individual affair, thus the shame extends to the family and the community. Counselors who have an understanding of the honor-shame concepts are likely to help this client address the problem in light of the family and cultural
