Counseling Jewish Americans: Considerations for Practice

Abstract

Jewish Americans represent both a minority religious group and a minority ethnic group with specific concerns related to Jewish identity, stereotypes, antisemitism, and invisibility as a minority. Counselors may lack spiritual, religious, and overall multicultural competencies for working effectively with this population. The authors offer a brief primer on Jewish Americans, literature on Jewish identity and potential client concerns, practical and clinical considerations, and suggestions for future research.

Online religious counseling for older adults

“…This finding fits well with the claims of Baker and Ray (2011), who maintained that consulting professionals recognize the digital channel as an unprecedented opportunity to treat people with difficulties (such as individuals from disadvantaged populations). According to Flasch and Fulton (2019), counselors' interventions correspond with the values, beliefs and cultural nuances of their counselees. As such, the positive experiences of the Orthodox rabbis participating in this study concerned their involvement in online responsa that were adapted pragmatically and specifically for a designated group of Orthodox older adults.…”

“…Furthermore, studies show that online counseling is capable of replicating the facilitative conditions and positive impacts of face-to-face encounters (Richards & Viganó, 2013). Research on online counseling services for religious minorities or for older people is lagging behind, however (Flasch & Fulton, 2019). This phenomenon should arouse concern because many old persons throughout the world consider themselves religious and are likely to insert their spiritual identity and values into any counseling relationship (Keller, 2014).…”

“…This phenomenon should arouse concern because many old persons throughout the world consider themselves religious and are likely to insert their spiritual identity and values into any counseling relationship (Keller, 2014). Moreover, according to Flasch and Fulton (2019), research on spiritual counseling must consider the cultural milieu in which it is provided. This highlights the need for further investigation into the role of religious involvement in promoting positive aging for older adults from different cultures and societies.…”

Addressing anti-semitism in social work education

“…Similar to others suffering from oppression, responses to anti-semitism are affected by personal and situational factors which in turn can affect the behavior of the persecutors. Holocaust survivors and their descendants often experience mental health disorders related to the trauma they experienced and maybe particularly vulnerable to anti-Semitic rhetoric and the threats they pose (Flasch & Fulton, 2019). Students who have been harassed and intimidated may feel unsafe, while statements such as "You're Jewish, show me your horns" can make people anxious, dazed, and angry (Loewenthal, 2017).…”

Suicide stigma in Jewish communities in the United States.

“…Judaism is both a culture and a religion; however, it is often the case that Jews consider themselves to be part of a Jewish culture but do not necessarily practice the religion consistently or at all (Flasch & Fulton, 2019; Weisskirch et al, 2016). There is diversity within the Jewish population regarding several factors, such as denomination, degree of religiosity, belonging to a congregation or synagogue, and regional identification and heritage (Flasch & Fulton, 2019). Jewish religious denominations generally cluster around two broad categories, non-Orthodox and Orthodox.…”