Tara Overzat

Stereotypes run rampant in all societies, and while most stereotypes have a negative connotation, others have a positive one. One such stereotype is that of the “model minority” referring to a minority population in a country which appears to have high achievements in the worlds of education and business. In the US, this term is sometimes applied to the Asian-American population. Due to the success of some Asian-Americans, there is a pervasive mental image of young Asians in the US diligently studying and working hard to become doctors and engineers. This not only denies the individuality and identities of member of this group, but also tends to shield the problems that some of these individuals may be struggling with.

When we are talking to our friends and they become miffed, we may casually change the subject. We don’t want to make our friends upset when we are together and having a good time. Counseling challenges that gut instinct to smooth over a rocky situation. With our clients, the situation may call for us to go deeper and risk hurting their feelings or bringing them to an emotionally vulnerable place. We have to remind ourselves that our clients are there to be helped — they do not need another friend, but a person who can help them navigate the emotional terrain of life. A friend may not risk hurting the client’s feelings, or may think that endorsing poor decisions or behavior is proving what a good friend they really are. A counselor being afraid to hurt a client’s feelings and tiptoeing around important subjects is not going to help the client. If the client was looking for someone to agree with them on everything and not challenge them, they would look no farther than their friends for help and would not need our guidance.

We watch Humphrey Bogart’s stoic demeanor as the owner of Rick’s Café in the classic movie Casablanca. The bar’s proprietor often has a drink in his hand. In fact, you would be hard-pressed to find a movie in which Humphrey Bogart doesn’t take a drink – or five. What my young self did not know as I watched as many classic movies as I could find, was that Bogie died a painful death from esophageal cancer, a disease highly correlated with excessive drinking and smoking.

How many times a day do we wear our masks? Every time we go to work, school, or the grocery store? Someone says, “How are you?” on the elevator and we say, “Fine.” It does not matter if we are giddy or ecstatic or if we are sad and depressed – we are always “fine,” “good,” or “okay.” Not every moment of our day is devoted to being sincere.

Day 2 of Privilege, Identity, and Cross-Cultural Diversity – 10th Annual Southeastern Conference on Cross-Cultural Issues in Counseling and Education. The conference continued to offer a plethora of interesting sessions to attend as it rolled into its second day. I chose to attend “Addressing Cross-Cultural Barriers in Educational Settings” a thought-provoking session led by Dr. Rhonda Williams of Fayette County Public Schools Psychological Services and Kristina Brantley, a graduate student at Georgia State University.