Race, Culture, and Competency

In reading the articles for this week's class on racism and cultural competency, I saw many parallels with my work at Samaritan Inns. Many of the concerns expressed by the family members in the studies were also expressed, although less often, by my clients. When most clients enter the facility, they are greeted by a staff who are (almost all) African-American and recovering addicts. Many of the staff are also from the the same neighborhoods as the clients, allowing them to connect with the clients without any real effort. They can just drop some lingo or the name of a crackhouse that's still operating and the clients will immediately relate to them as an authority on addiction. This is not the case with me.

All of the clients with whom I work are African-American and none share significant cultural similarities with me. Yesterday, we received some new clients as some of ours had transitioned over the weekend. I was co-facilitating a group with another counselor on the rules and expectations of the program. At the close of the group, she related her story of addiction and told the clients how much they would connect with her and the other staff members "even Matt" while in treatment.

Now, I wasn't offended by this method of inclusion but it further cemented my position as an outsider in this placement. The drawbacks of that position are the clients' judgment that I cannot relate to their story of addiction and that their story might be 'too much' for me. Luckily, this sets the expectation bar pretty low, and when I do lead a group, they are surprised with the insight and guidance I can offer them. Another surprise is that their story, however horrid and tragic, is not going to be something that shocks me into the fetal position.