ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with a comparison of Cultural Safety and Cultural Competence, two initiatives that seek to insure that counselors, therapists, and other health care providers adequately focus upon the beliefs, fears, hopes, goals, and so forth of those being served. After taking the distinctiveness of clients into account, models of therapy and recovery that recognize their traditions and heritage are considered. The chapter briefly analyzes two specific methods of intervention that can be adapted for use with indigenous, ethnic, and traditional peoples. In particular, Gregory Bateson’s combining cybernetics (information theory) with anthropology, and Rene Girard’s work with role-modeling and its implications that are adapted for use with those experiencing change and anomie. When people emulate others, they develop similar interests and desires. This can lead to envy, rivalry, and tensions due to the competition that emerges. By adapting the work of observers such as Bateson and Girard, methods for dealing with anomie, culture loss, and alienation can be developed.
