Everything keeps growing in our multicultural world.
As social workers, we will deal with a wide variety of people and situations, and as we know – everyone is different. It is our job to make sure we have a fully accepting and open mindset when it comes to race, culture and ethnicity.
Just because we may be different in those 3 aspects, does not mean it should play a part in our work. And we should constantly be challenging these ideas, because we may not be as open as we thought we were.
(Lani 2007) said something that connects to my point, “Some foreign languages and the way people look and act.. I don’t really have any Filipinos in my family. When I hear the Filipino language I notice I get really irritated because i’m not used to it.” (p.146)
What Lani said is great context as to why we should challenge these ideas. On a personal standpoint we have our own thoughts and beliefs, but that is to not coincide with work life. As social workers we are proving support, problem solving techniques, possible interventions and sometimes having to make difficult decisions. Being in such a sensitive place, it is a key point to build a close and trusting relationship with whom in which we are working with. So, we cannot have things such as race, ethnicity and culture put up small blockades and affect the relationship we are attempting to develop. To truly have an open and safe environment, we cannot have these blockades – we won’t have a true connection if we do. Challenging these ideas is a way of reflecting on how we truly feel, we must do this in order to change any biases that we may or may not have. We are constantly growing.
When we listen and celebrate what is both common and different, we become a wiser, more inclusive, and better organization.
Pat Wadors
The Mind
Critical Consciousness.
What is critical consciousness?
Well it sounds like exactly what it is. It is when you have the ability to see what types of inequalities are present, and you are able to take positive action against these inequalities.
Inequalities are unequal/differing positions of status within a group and society and they may come in the forms of..
Social inequlaity
Wealth inequality
Education inequality
Racial inequality
Gender Inequality
etc
Critical thinking is important to social workers because some of those inequalities may be main factors in the persons life that we are trying to help. And a social worker is supposed to provide help with finding solutions to problems. These inequalities may affect the persons mental health and that all falls under the social workers umbrella of expertise. Social workers provide support, with an open mind.
I believe that critical consciousness relates to us challenging our ideas about race, ethnicity and culture. Critical consciousness requires someone to have an open mind, and be open to accepting new things. If we have biases about those 3 things, then as we become critically conscious, we will realize what inequalities we may have been imposing on our self thought. And in order to truly help someone, we cannot have biases on things that may define who they are.
Marxism After Marx: Critical Consciousness and the Pedagogy of the Oppressed
Transformational student narratives..
This relates to our classroom blogs just like how it did in Amber Strong Makaiau and Anne Reilley Freese’s article. When we opened up in our blogs and shared our stories, we opened our world for our peers to see and get an understanding of what it was like being us. Some blogs may have pertained details about how it was difficult coming from a certain culture and not being accepted because of it. These blogs, we read how our peers have lived and it opens our eyes as well as our minds. We are creating a safe environment as we share these experiences, and that is a very beneficial setting to have within a school classroom. We build trust and understanding.
On a more personal note, it may sound odd but I was made fun of for being White for many years during my school years. And it was strange because people would tell me that they wished they could be white, just like what (Amber, 2006 pg. 142) reflected on. It was weird. I hated being White so much but people wished they could be like me? It’s an odd concept to wrap my head around. Learning things like this can open our mind to experiences and learn how to avoid possibly saying something crude or insensitive. Everyone has their own experiences, we can listen but to an extent we wont ever truly understand.
Self-study
As we study ourselves, we grow a better understanding of how people may or may not work. Social workers can use self-study to promote social perspective taking, tolerance, and understanding of diversity through personal transformation by showing how as they change as a person they can have a better understanding of those around them. If you take a look inside yourself and see you may have some biased aspects, but you grow from them and open your mind to other people. You have a better working understanding of how to take other peoples perspectives into mind. Building tolerance will also follow, sometimes biases can cause impatience if its related to what we dislike, if you no longer are facing these blockades, then you will develop a stronger tolerance for certain conversations that may have agitated you in the past. And when dropping what biases you may have in relations to diversity, you will gain a better understanding of them. The blockage that stood in your way when it came to learning how certain cultures came to be no longer exist. Your mind is free to learn about everything to the fullest extent while having a positive and healthy mindset.
“The journey to understand other people begins with self.” is important to my future as a psychologist because if I cant even understand myself, how can I expect myself to stand others? It would be most beneficial if I had the best understanding of how I work, to then understand how other people may work. And that could sometimes be similar to me, or other times it could be very different. But to work to the best of my abilities, I can’t be lost in my own head.
One must understand personal struggles, where they come from and how to solve them in order to provide the best support that they can. The blind leading the blind never works out in the end.
“Taking care of yourself doesn’t mean me first; it means me too.”
— L.R. Knost
A Transformational Journey: Exploring our multicultural identities through self-study.
Amber Strong Makaiau & Anne Reilley Freese
This article related to my personal values on an excremental level. I have always thought that the best way to understand others, is to understand yourself first. If one cannot answer their own questions then how can you provide support for others. Some people are better at giving advice than taking it. But is it fair to say the advice you give is unbiased? Not phased by your personal struggles in that moment. I have caught myself giving advice that may help myself better than it would help the person I was talking to. As I read this article, I realized that having biased opinions toward other cultures really blinded my understanding of people. When someone comes from a different culture, they experience things differently. Home life, social life and personal values differ from what I experience. So at the end of the day, my advice may be completely useless, and only leaving me satisfied feeling that I was able to help someone when I only offered empty words.
It relates to the NASW Code of Ethics because part of what I learned about in relations to the code is that physical, mental, social and intellectual wellbeing are very vital. And this article is based on how one can grow to benefit themselves and others when it comes to learning about multicultural environments. Making uncomfortable choices is a part of the NASW’s code, and in this article students ask themselves uncomfortable questions to better identify who they are as a person. So there are definite cross overs and connections between the article and the NASW Code of Ethics. And of course, this article relates to the whole world in itself. The world is an uncomfortable place. Filled with people we don’t understand. My world is full of many different individuals, some whom in which I am no longer close to. I got to learn about many different cultures growing up, and sometimes I got to learn about the same culture but how people experience and express it differently.
Social Worker Core Value.
Dignity and Worth of a Person
As a social worker, you must respect that individuals come from a variety of different backgrounds and cultures and that all people deserve to be treated with respect. Social workers should certainly support equality without assigning levels of worth to an individual or group and it is important to honor in the uniqueness of all individuals. Social workers should also be consistent with all values, ethical principles, and ethical standards of the profession when working with clients (Reamer, 2006). As social workers, one of your duties is to help others find their worth as a person.
As I have mentioned previously in this blog, every person is different. And we must expand our mind in order to accept these differences. That is what this core value is all about. I believe it is one of the most important core values for a social worker to follow. As we learn about the multiple cultures our world has, no culture should be seen as more important that the other. Everyone deserves to be treated with fairness and that is how social workers should go about their work. Everyone is important, and no one person is more important that the other.
10 Responses
Danni
|
I really liked the layout of your blog and the pictures you chose; you have a very artistic eye. You pointed out some very powerful insights about personal beliefs that could hinder one’s capacity to truly accept and understand the circumstances of others. You pointed out that we must constantly challenge ourselves, if we are to be able to grow and transform our perspectives. Your blog was beautifully written and very informative.
Madison Sawyer
|
Thank you! I understand that when reading blogs, its sometimes hard to keep with it and a more colorful/intriguing layout can help ones focus. When reading the article i was assigned, it was prominent that if a social worker has personal biases (against a ethnic group/culture/etc), it could take a toll on their effectiveness. In the field of social work, one must be accepting of all and it would be highly unprofessional to not take a deep look into ourselves and realize what we may have swept under the rug. Social work is not a job where you can shrug things like this off, being social worker means you are dealing with someones well being – and if a social worker has personal biases that could affect how diligently they work, then they should take a step back and remove themselves from that specific scenario.
As we challenge how we think and feel, we allow ourselves to grow our knowledge on personal growth. We can look at what we did and possibly direct someone else to do the same, everyone is different but if you yourself cannot grow, then how can you attempt to help someone else – especially if its similar to something you’ve experienced. Personal growth is always amazing, and everyone should strive to be the best that they can be.
**Thank you for your compliment(s)! Seeing as this is my first blog for a category I picked, I was hoping it would turn out nicely!
Michelle Trahan
|
Madison, I want to respond to your beautiful blog post by first saying I am very excited for you and your career choice as a psychologist. You have such a beautiful spirit about you, and I believe it will take you far in both your personal and professional life.
Several points stood out as I perused your blog, so I’ll divide my response to reflect each individual point.
1) The Libertarian Education/Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy (outlined in the YouTube video)
This approach fosters a collaborative learning environment between teachers and students, where both can teach and learn from one another. This thinking is crucial for critical consciousness because it helps people approach things with an open mind. When one person/group dictates what and how we learn in any specific setting, it becomes indoctrination. While we must have a baseline of values and beliefs, it’s equally vital that we don’t view our way of thinking as the only ‘right’ way. As future social workers and psychologists, we must explore differences and learn from everyone, even if it means that what we perceive as right is challenged by another’s beliefs. Perhaps the key is not determining who is correct but working together to intentionally navigate our lives in ways that benefit society by finding common ground.
SN: I am now interested in diving more deeply into the work of Paulo Freire, thanks to you.
2) Your experience being white.
Thank you for sharing your personal experience. Educational materials are helpful for learning but cannot replace real-time dialogue. As you and the article outlined, we must have safe spaces to share our experiences.
Being an African American woman, I have seen times when a white person’s sharing of negative experiences upset the Black community. It was almost as if the act of humanizing one meant dehumanizing another. Ex – My childhood best friend is a white girl. She faced extreme hardship when her family moved to my hometown and became minorities. She got bullied for being white; kids would tell her she smelled like a wet dog because of her hair, then ridicule her inability to hide her emotions because she blushed easily. Eventually, she began defending herself using similar mocking and became labeled a racist. It got to where she hated her skin by people conditioned to hate theirs…
Fortunately(<— a word she would use), she became the “cool white girl,” but not before everyone found common ground and bridged their differences. Common ground = mutual respect.
Her experience taught me about biases in my community. Blacks focused on white discrimination but ignored discrimination against others. Sometimes, we don’t know our biases until real-life experiences point them out or challenge our thinking.
.
3) The Self-Study Podcast
The podcast episode was very relatable and refreshing. Despite the apparent cultural differences between myself, Kate, and Ruby, much of what they said resonated with me. Growing up in a strict religious environment, I can relate to their metaphor of being put in a box. I also love a good f-bomb, so I loved the authenticity of them being themselves and leaving room for freedom of expression. The major takeaways from the podcast I went with as it pertains to our work were questions surrounding the challenges of systems:
– Why were said systems created?
– Were they created to protect ourselves or our community?
– Are we continuing to evaluate these systems?
– Are the systems we created doing what we intended them to do?
– Are they serving the purposes we want?
– Are they helping achieve goals that unite us as people?
Madison Sawyer
|
I believe the working collaborative environment between students and teachers was a great example for this assignment. It showed two different viewpoints coming together to create a safe and open environment, which is one of the main strives in the field of social work. Social workers are held to the fact that they create meaningful relationships with those they are working with to aim for the most positive outcome.
I think it is important for everyone to share their experiences, especially related to culture, race, beliefs, etc. When hearing someone’s story it has deeper meaning than reading about similar things through a text book or online articles. We should aim to be excepting and non-judgmental.
I thought the podcast would give this real life feel. Hearing someone rather than just reading something, it can have a different affect. And in a podcast about self study, authenticity should definitely be put out there. There’s no need to put up a façade! I think the questions you have surrounding the challenges of the systems are great. It’s great to try and dive deep into something when you’re unsure why it’s really there.
David Shelton
|
What a fantastic blog… I misunderstood the assignment. Your point is crucial. As social workers, it’s our responsibility to approach our work with a fully accepting and open mindset, particularly regarding race, culture, and ethnicity. Each individual we encounter is unique, and our role is to provide support and assistance without allowing our personal biases to interfere.
The quote from Lani provides valuable context. It’s a reminder that we all have our thoughts and beliefs, but when we step into our roles as social workers, we must set these aside. Building close and trusting relationships with those we work with is paramount, and any biases related to race, ethnicity, or culture can hinder the development of such relationships.
Challenging these ideas is not only a way to reflect on our true feelings but also a means of identifying and addressing any biases we might have. It’s a continuous process of growth and self-improvement, ensuring that we provide the best possible support to our clients. Doing so creates open and safe environments where genuine connections can flourish.
Thank you for highlighting this important aspect of our work and emphasizing the need for constant self-reflection and growth.
Madison Sawyer
|
Thank you so much for enjoying my blog. It is totally okay that you believe that you misunderstood the assignment, but I think that everyone perceives things in their own way. This class is a learning experience. Just like how the field of social work is a learning experience, we can prepare ourselves all we want for a numerous amount of possible situation’s, but we will never truly be prepared for absolutely everything that we may encounter. That is where social work is a field of learning and understanding!
The strong point I was running with in my blog is that challenging ourselves is the best way to grow, social work is not a job that can go on affected by personal biases, those can play a dangerous part in the well-being of those we could be working with. And I agree that it is a continuous growth of self improvement, one always has room to grow.
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog!
Noor Shubair
|
Hello Madison,
This blog is very beautiful. The visuals and the colors go really well together. I also really liked how you incorporated the quotes and different pieces of media to bring more context to the points you are making.
I completely agree with you saying that we cannot allow things like race, ethnicity and culture to put up blockades and affect the relationships that social workers are attempting to develop with the person they are working with, and with what you said about taking into account differing or unequal positions in society. I’ve found that there are many cases of social workers that don’t take into account those factors. I’ve heard of a therapist trying to teach their client how to build boundaries with their immigrant mother. Though, something like that might work with someone who had that therapist’s family dynamic, it did not work for that client. It is awful because the client is the person who paid for professional help, but isn’t getting any because their therapist isn’t willing to adjust their advice for someone with a different standing and culture than them.
A lot of people might say that the only solution for a problem like this is to have a very diverse group of social workers. While that would be good, I always thought that being exactly like the person you are working for wasn’t necessary to be able to develop a proper relationship with them. If social workers just looked inwards, identified their own personal biases, set those aside, and then put real effort into understanding the person that came to them for help, then problems like that would be less common. You bring up this solution really well in the blog. And your title, “Lets study ourselves, to study each other.” is very fitting in this scenario.
This also really ties in with you saying that you have caught yourself giving advice that would help yourself better than it would the other person. Most people wouldn’t really pay enough attention to realize something like that, but you did!
Madison Sawyer
|
Thank you for your compliments! I’m really glad you enjoyed my blog. When I incorporated media, its because I understand how hard it is to just read and read and read. So sometimes listening to videos, having pictures and incorporating color can help one focus on what they’re reading. It adds more flavor.
Social workers have to adapt to their environment and since every single person is different, this means that in the field of social work – there will always be something new to learn. Just like how you said the therapist wasn’t willing to adjust their advice to someone who was different. Situations like that shouldn’t have to happen, it can be extremely detrimental if people cannot actually get the help that they need just because they were unlucky and got the biased therapist.
And I agree with the point you made, one does not have to be similar to someone else in order to help them. You just have to be open minded and open hearted, with no biases in the way, you can help anyone.
Regan Gray
|
Hi Madison, I enjoyed reading your post. I found the layout and style you used to be very engaging and I will definitely be taking inspiration from you in my future posts. I can relate to what you said about oftentimes giving others advice that better suited your own situation instead of theirs. For a long time, I would give advice from the perspective of my own life and the experiences I’ve been through, as most people do. A couple of years ago I was working with a counselor who shared a piece of knowledge with me that helped change my perspective on how to give advice and understand other people. She explained to me that to best understand another person’s pain or struggles, you must not compare them to your own pain and struggles. Which was hard for me to understand at first but as I’ve gotten older and worked with people from various backgrounds it’s become much more clear to me. I also grew up in a very religious household and have been learning how to overcome some biased outlooks that I didn’t even realize I had developed. Overall, I feel that your post resonated with me in many ways because I have entered into an era where I’m working on becoming better at understanding myself, which in turn has greatly helped me understand those around me.
Madison Sawyer
|
Thank you for enjoying my blog! Its awesome you are starting to have a better understanding of yourself. Sometimes you have to take a step back and look at whats in front of you before steaming ahead. Giving advice is a craft, and we will always learn something new because everyone is different and what we know now may not apply to them – so we have to learn something new. Sometimes we can look back and realize our shortcomings and see where we may have not been giving the most appropriate or helpful advice. To be able to help properly, we have to know how to in the first place, not just go in blindly and assume we did a good job.
Life is full of opportunities to grow, and i’m glad you have stepped into this self understanding era. It helps you understand yourself, and like how you said – helps you understand those who are around you!
Danni
I really liked the layout of your blog and the pictures you chose; you have a very artistic eye. You pointed out some very powerful insights about personal beliefs that could hinder one’s capacity to truly accept and understand the circumstances of others. You pointed out that we must constantly challenge ourselves, if we are to be able to grow and transform our perspectives. Your blog was beautifully written and very informative.
Madison Sawyer
Thank you! I understand that when reading blogs, its sometimes hard to keep with it and a more colorful/intriguing layout can help ones focus. When reading the article i was assigned, it was prominent that if a social worker has personal biases (against a ethnic group/culture/etc), it could take a toll on their effectiveness. In the field of social work, one must be accepting of all and it would be highly unprofessional to not take a deep look into ourselves and realize what we may have swept under the rug. Social work is not a job where you can shrug things like this off, being social worker means you are dealing with someones well being – and if a social worker has personal biases that could affect how diligently they work, then they should take a step back and remove themselves from that specific scenario.
As we challenge how we think and feel, we allow ourselves to grow our knowledge on personal growth. We can look at what we did and possibly direct someone else to do the same, everyone is different but if you yourself cannot grow, then how can you attempt to help someone else – especially if its similar to something you’ve experienced. Personal growth is always amazing, and everyone should strive to be the best that they can be.
**Thank you for your compliment(s)! Seeing as this is my first blog for a category I picked, I was hoping it would turn out nicely!
Michelle Trahan
Madison, I want to respond to your beautiful blog post by first saying I am very excited for you and your career choice as a psychologist. You have such a beautiful spirit about you, and I believe it will take you far in both your personal and professional life.
Several points stood out as I perused your blog, so I’ll divide my response to reflect each individual point.
1) The Libertarian Education/Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy (outlined in the YouTube video)
This approach fosters a collaborative learning environment between teachers and students, where both can teach and learn from one another. This thinking is crucial for critical consciousness because it helps people approach things with an open mind. When one person/group dictates what and how we learn in any specific setting, it becomes indoctrination. While we must have a baseline of values and beliefs, it’s equally vital that we don’t view our way of thinking as the only ‘right’ way. As future social workers and psychologists, we must explore differences and learn from everyone, even if it means that what we perceive as right is challenged by another’s beliefs. Perhaps the key is not determining who is correct but working together to intentionally navigate our lives in ways that benefit society by finding common ground.
SN: I am now interested in diving more deeply into the work of Paulo Freire, thanks to you.
2) Your experience being white.
Thank you for sharing your personal experience. Educational materials are helpful for learning but cannot replace real-time dialogue. As you and the article outlined, we must have safe spaces to share our experiences.
Being an African American woman, I have seen times when a white person’s sharing of negative experiences upset the Black community. It was almost as if the act of humanizing one meant dehumanizing another. Ex – My childhood best friend is a white girl. She faced extreme hardship when her family moved to my hometown and became minorities. She got bullied for being white; kids would tell her she smelled like a wet dog because of her hair, then ridicule her inability to hide her emotions because she blushed easily. Eventually, she began defending herself using similar mocking and became labeled a racist. It got to where she hated her skin by people conditioned to hate theirs…
Fortunately(<— a word she would use), she became the “cool white girl,” but not before everyone found common ground and bridged their differences. Common ground = mutual respect.
Her experience taught me about biases in my community. Blacks focused on white discrimination but ignored discrimination against others. Sometimes, we don’t know our biases until real-life experiences point them out or challenge our thinking.
.
3) The Self-Study Podcast
The podcast episode was very relatable and refreshing. Despite the apparent cultural differences between myself, Kate, and Ruby, much of what they said resonated with me. Growing up in a strict religious environment, I can relate to their metaphor of being put in a box. I also love a good f-bomb, so I loved the authenticity of them being themselves and leaving room for freedom of expression. The major takeaways from the podcast I went with as it pertains to our work were questions surrounding the challenges of systems:
– Why were said systems created?
– Were they created to protect ourselves or our community?
– Are we continuing to evaluate these systems?
– Are the systems we created doing what we intended them to do?
– Are they serving the purposes we want?
– Are they helping achieve goals that unite us as people?
Madison Sawyer
I believe the working collaborative environment between students and teachers was a great example for this assignment. It showed two different viewpoints coming together to create a safe and open environment, which is one of the main strives in the field of social work. Social workers are held to the fact that they create meaningful relationships with those they are working with to aim for the most positive outcome.
I think it is important for everyone to share their experiences, especially related to culture, race, beliefs, etc. When hearing someone’s story it has deeper meaning than reading about similar things through a text book or online articles. We should aim to be excepting and non-judgmental.
I thought the podcast would give this real life feel. Hearing someone rather than just reading something, it can have a different affect. And in a podcast about self study, authenticity should definitely be put out there. There’s no need to put up a façade! I think the questions you have surrounding the challenges of the systems are great. It’s great to try and dive deep into something when you’re unsure why it’s really there.
David Shelton
What a fantastic blog… I misunderstood the assignment. Your point is crucial. As social workers, it’s our responsibility to approach our work with a fully accepting and open mindset, particularly regarding race, culture, and ethnicity. Each individual we encounter is unique, and our role is to provide support and assistance without allowing our personal biases to interfere.
The quote from Lani provides valuable context. It’s a reminder that we all have our thoughts and beliefs, but when we step into our roles as social workers, we must set these aside. Building close and trusting relationships with those we work with is paramount, and any biases related to race, ethnicity, or culture can hinder the development of such relationships.
Challenging these ideas is not only a way to reflect on our true feelings but also a means of identifying and addressing any biases we might have. It’s a continuous process of growth and self-improvement, ensuring that we provide the best possible support to our clients. Doing so creates open and safe environments where genuine connections can flourish.
Thank you for highlighting this important aspect of our work and emphasizing the need for constant self-reflection and growth.
Madison Sawyer
Thank you so much for enjoying my blog. It is totally okay that you believe that you misunderstood the assignment, but I think that everyone perceives things in their own way. This class is a learning experience. Just like how the field of social work is a learning experience, we can prepare ourselves all we want for a numerous amount of possible situation’s, but we will never truly be prepared for absolutely everything that we may encounter. That is where social work is a field of learning and understanding!
The strong point I was running with in my blog is that challenging ourselves is the best way to grow, social work is not a job that can go on affected by personal biases, those can play a dangerous part in the well-being of those we could be working with. And I agree that it is a continuous growth of self improvement, one always has room to grow.
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog!
Noor Shubair
Hello Madison,
This blog is very beautiful. The visuals and the colors go really well together. I also really liked how you incorporated the quotes and different pieces of media to bring more context to the points you are making.
I completely agree with you saying that we cannot allow things like race, ethnicity and culture to put up blockades and affect the relationships that social workers are attempting to develop with the person they are working with, and with what you said about taking into account differing or unequal positions in society. I’ve found that there are many cases of social workers that don’t take into account those factors. I’ve heard of a therapist trying to teach their client how to build boundaries with their immigrant mother. Though, something like that might work with someone who had that therapist’s family dynamic, it did not work for that client. It is awful because the client is the person who paid for professional help, but isn’t getting any because their therapist isn’t willing to adjust their advice for someone with a different standing and culture than them.
A lot of people might say that the only solution for a problem like this is to have a very diverse group of social workers. While that would be good, I always thought that being exactly like the person you are working for wasn’t necessary to be able to develop a proper relationship with them. If social workers just looked inwards, identified their own personal biases, set those aside, and then put real effort into understanding the person that came to them for help, then problems like that would be less common. You bring up this solution really well in the blog. And your title, “Lets study ourselves, to study each other.” is very fitting in this scenario.
This also really ties in with you saying that you have caught yourself giving advice that would help yourself better than it would the other person. Most people wouldn’t really pay enough attention to realize something like that, but you did!
Madison Sawyer
Thank you for your compliments! I’m really glad you enjoyed my blog. When I incorporated media, its because I understand how hard it is to just read and read and read. So sometimes listening to videos, having pictures and incorporating color can help one focus on what they’re reading. It adds more flavor.
Social workers have to adapt to their environment and since every single person is different, this means that in the field of social work – there will always be something new to learn. Just like how you said the therapist wasn’t willing to adjust their advice to someone who was different. Situations like that shouldn’t have to happen, it can be extremely detrimental if people cannot actually get the help that they need just because they were unlucky and got the biased therapist.
And I agree with the point you made, one does not have to be similar to someone else in order to help them. You just have to be open minded and open hearted, with no biases in the way, you can help anyone.
Regan Gray
Hi Madison, I enjoyed reading your post. I found the layout and style you used to be very engaging and I will definitely be taking inspiration from you in my future posts. I can relate to what you said about oftentimes giving others advice that better suited your own situation instead of theirs. For a long time, I would give advice from the perspective of my own life and the experiences I’ve been through, as most people do. A couple of years ago I was working with a counselor who shared a piece of knowledge with me that helped change my perspective on how to give advice and understand other people. She explained to me that to best understand another person’s pain or struggles, you must not compare them to your own pain and struggles. Which was hard for me to understand at first but as I’ve gotten older and worked with people from various backgrounds it’s become much more clear to me. I also grew up in a very religious household and have been learning how to overcome some biased outlooks that I didn’t even realize I had developed. Overall, I feel that your post resonated with me in many ways because I have entered into an era where I’m working on becoming better at understanding myself, which in turn has greatly helped me understand those around me.
Madison Sawyer
Thank you for enjoying my blog! Its awesome you are starting to have a better understanding of yourself. Sometimes you have to take a step back and look at whats in front of you before steaming ahead. Giving advice is a craft, and we will always learn something new because everyone is different and what we know now may not apply to them – so we have to learn something new. Sometimes we can look back and realize our shortcomings and see where we may have not been giving the most appropriate or helpful advice. To be able to help properly, we have to know how to in the first place, not just go in blindly and assume we did a good job.
Life is full of opportunities to grow, and i’m glad you have stepped into this self understanding era. It helps you understand yourself, and like how you said – helps you understand those who are around you!