Systematic review of the multicultural aspect in a therapeutic relationship

Therapeutic relationship is the connection or alliance developed between a client and their mental health professional. In order for the relationship to be successful and beneficial for the well-being of the client, several factors come into play to determine the strength of the therapeutic relationship. This article intends to focus on the multicultural aspect of the therapeutic relationship and will systematically review the literature that explains how culture plays a role in determining the direction and effectiveness of the relationship. The reviewer attempts to explore and analyse the various cultural factors that facilitate a strong and positive therapeutic relationship as well as the factors that fail to do so. Overall, it has been found that several multicultural factors that include race, ethnicity, religion and language affect the strength and efficacy of the therapeutic relationship as it differs from culture to culture. Ultimately, this calls for all mental health professionals to further develop their knowledge and skills as well as to be multiculturally competent so that they can be culturally sensitive towards the client and build a good and healthy therapeutic alliance that warrants a positive treatment outcome

Coping mechanism, psychological distress and counselling acceptance among victims of domestic violence in Malaysia

Domestic violence is a worldwide problem that is unaffected by race, age, culture, or gender. It charges have been on the rise in Malaysia in recent years. Thus this study was conducted to examine the inherent differences in coping mechanism and psychological distress among victims of domestic violence by counselling acceptance. A quasi-experimental design involving measures at baseline and three months follow-up was used. All domestic violence victims (N = 58) between September 2018 to March 2019 were recruited from a government funded victim care centre. Three Bahasa Malaysia translated versions of instruments were used: Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory and Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced. Findings showed no significant differences between domestic violence victims who accepted counselling vs those who did not in terms of sociodemographic factors except for duration of abuse. Counselling acceptance rates were minimal as only 50% of participants accepted counselling. Both groups favoured approach coping mechanism (n=41, 70.69 %) compared to avoidant coping mechanism (n=10, 17.24 %). There was a significant reduction in symptoms of depression (BDI: r =0.82, p < .05) and anxiety (BAI: r= 0.71, p < .05) for both groups when levels were examined at 3 months follow-up. There is a need to examine ways to increase counselling acceptance rates among victims of domestic violence. Overall, this study offers insight into counselling acceptance rates and its psychological correlates among domestic violence victims at a single centre