Sally GohFollow

Date

10-2020

Department

School of Behavioral Sciences

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Counselor Education and Supervision (PhD)

Chair

Fernando Garzon

Keywords

Burma, Chin, Grace, Refugee, Faith-driven, Daily Stressors

Disciplines

Counseling | Education | Social and Behavioral Sciences

Abstract

The influx of immigrants from a diverse cultural and religious tradition into the United States has renewed counselors’ and researchers' interest in how collectivistic populations from a refugee background experience pre-settlement and post-settlement stress in this country. Refugees who have experienced trauma before their settlement are more likely to experience increasing psychiatric pressure from daily stressors such as language barriers, employment difficulties, familial and generational conflicts, and dwindling psychosocial support. However, some refugee populations, such as the Chin people from Burma, have a low-uptake of help-seeking for their psychological problems, leading to more insufficient adjustment to the host culture. Since the Christian faith and the exercise of spiritual disciplines play a critical role in the mental and subjective health of the Chin population, this researcher conducted a workshop to teach a faith-driven approach (also known as GRACE). This exploratory study will describe the development, rationale, and implementation of the protocol. In the outcome analysis using paired sample T-test, participants who practiced the protocol experienced a statistically significant reduction in psychological distress and improved levels of gratitude and motivation to forgive. Also, the researcher reports on the lessons learned from this ethnic minority study, including the limitations of recruitment, randomization, the assessment procedures, and retention of participants.

Download

Share

COinS