Worldview and Counseling

Describe the issues unique to Arab Americans considering the relationship between its members’ worldviews and their current perceptions, attitudes, beliefs, values and behaviors. Explain the implications of those issues for an African American counselor when working with someone from this group in counseling/therapy.
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(1) Describe the issues unique to Arab Americans considering the relationship between its members’ worldviews and their current perceptions, attitudes, beliefs, values and behaviors.

All cultures embrace a set of preferred values including beliefs, values, religion and spiritual practices that make up their worldview. For instance, in Western cultures, the primary worldview is based on individualism; while Eastern culture is focused on collectivism. Sayed, Collin, Takahashi, (1998, as cited in Sabbah, Dinsmore, & Hof, 2009) assert that Arab-Americans embrace a Middle Eastern worldview that emphasizes values such as: (a) togetherness, (b) common strivings, and (c) a sense of communal interdependence. Arab Americans make up a minority group that include those born in the U. S. and who have Arab heritage as well as those who have emigrated from the Arab world. Sabbah et al. (2009), reports that despite the increasing numbers in this ethnic group, the U. S. government still does not recognize Arab Americans as a minority, which has deprived them of any official minority protection, such as protection from hate crimes.

According to Sabbah et al. (2009), some Arab-Americans’ cultural identity development may affect their acceptance of a cultural worldview that includes adopting some aspect of the dominant world view in the U. S. Moreover, Sabbah et al. (2009), suggest that the most critical factor for the Arab American is language, and viewed as …