Together we are stronger
At WLAC we help children who have experienced trauma i.e. very stressful, frightening or distressing events. These children all live or go to school in Hammersmith & Fulham or Kensington & Chelsea and come from an extremely wide range of cultural backgrounds.
Each one of us experiences, responds and recovers from trauma differently. There is growing awareness that cultural factors can play a significant part. “Culture" extends beyond race, ethnicity, faith and religion to include many other aspects of day-to-day life including sexual orientation, dietary habits, activity levels, customs, attitudes to healthcare, family dynamics and factors such as socioeconomic status and literacy levels.
At WLAC we recognise that our cultural backgrounds can influence each of our experiences and interpretations of trauma, our traumatic stress responses and our decisions about if, when, how and who we turn to for help. Our cultural backgrounds may also inform or shape our expectations of counselling and therapy, how we respond to such support and ultimately how we heal and recover.
At WLAC, our services are client-led. This means that our therapists listens carefully to each client to understand their unique experiences, expectations and goals. However, we are becoming increasingly alert to the fact that our own cultural backgrounds inform how we do this, the tools and strategies we introduce and the support we offer.
What are the key components of Culturally-Sensitive services?
Research suggests that although there are universal biological responses to trauma, cultural factors can influence the bio-psychosocial experience of trauma and subsequent traumatic stress reactions. This means that our cultural backgrounds can affect our vulnerability to, and experience and expression of traumatic stress, as well as each of our responses to trauma treatment.
Providing a culturally-sensitive service means:
- Understanding the role of cultural background in the interpretation of trauma and the recovery process; e.g. our therapists may perceive situations differently to a client who has a different cultural background so our therapists need to listen carefully to what each client’s particular set of experiences
- Helping to restore a sense of safety for the child and family through trust-building; e.g. cultural differences may affect how much a client feels safe to share with a therapist so our therapists need to spend time building a relationship of trust
- Working within and through the family structure to promote emotional and social support, and utilisation of coping resources; e.g. our therapists support our clients to identify and nurture their own support networks to empower them to move forward more positively with their lives
As a team, we have been examining our own values, beliefs and practices including the assumptions we make every day without thinking about them. Through empathy and compassion, we believe that cultural differences need not be a barrier to our ability to support children and their families. By being more mindful of cultural differences, we know that we can support our clients event more effectively.
Our journey of learning and discovery continues.