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Running Head: COUNS LEBANESE AMERICANS 1 Counseling Running head: COUNS LEBANESE AMERICANS 1 Counseling Lebanese Americans: A Culturally Sensitive Approach Hafsa Ahmed, Colin Freeland, and Sara Moe Mercer University COUNS LEBANESE AMERICANS 2 Counseling Lebanese Americans: A Culturally Sensitive Approach Cultural identity has a profound impact on individuals’ mental and physical health, influencing feelings of belonging and security and contributing to a sense of well-being within society. For this reason, a growing body of research suggests that developing cultural competence is a salient task for counselors wishing to achieve effectiveness across a diversity of clients (Abudabbeh & Hays, 2006; Sue, Sue, Neville, & Smith, 2019). Within the Lebanese American population, culture, religion, and sociohistorical context significantly impact attitudes toward seeking counseling, common therapeutic issues, and prominent barriers to treatment. Through incorporating this cultural knowledge into theory and practice, counselors can develop and implement sensitive, appropriate skills and intervention strategies. Historical Background Large-scale Lebanese immigration to the United States began in the late 19th century and can be divided into three distinct waves. The first wave, lasting from the late 1800s to World War I, consisted predominantly of poor, uneducated Christians escaping economic hardship and religious persecution under the Ottoman Empire (Nassar-McMillan & Hakim-Larson, 2003). This group was initially denied naturalization and citizenship on the basis of being Asian and therefore not a part of the White race (Suleiman, 1999). The status of Lebanese people in the United States remained tenuous until after World War II, when they were officially classified as White and granted citizenship under the 1940 Nationality Act. Around this time, a second influx of Lebanese people entered America. This group contained large numbers of well-off, highly educated Muslim professionals (Abudabbeh & Hays, 2006). A third wave, beginning in 1966, occurred as a direct result of the economic crisis and political instability resulting from the Lebanese civil war (Suleiman, 1999). This group was more heterogeneous than earlier waves of COUNS LEBANESE AMERICANS 3 immigrants, containing both Christians and Muslims and a mix of students, professionals, and refugees. In contrast to early immigrants who fought to be viewed as White in order to retain their right to citizenship, Lebanese people arriving in recent decades were more likely to maintain their ethnic identity and cultural traditions (Abudabbeh & Hays, 2006). Today, more people of Lebanese decent live outside of Lebanon than within. According to the U.S. Census, there are an estimated 1.9 million Arab Americans residing in the United States, with Lebanese people accounting for 56% of that population (Sue, Sue, Neville, & Smith, 2019). Due to the absence of a category for Arabs on the U.S. Census short form, a significant discrepancy exists between this number and the Arab American Institute’s adjusted population estimate of 3.6 million (Arab American Institute, 2012). Racial and Ethnic Identity In order to fully understand Lebanese Americans’ racial identity construction, it is first necessary to examine the ways in which Arabs in America have historically been racially identified. The U.S. stance on the earliest Arab immigrants was inconsistent, categorizing those of Middle Eastern decent as “Asians, ‘other Asians,’ Turks from Asia, Caucasian, ‘White,’ Black, or ‘colored’” (Suleiman, 1999, p. 7). Assimilation and citizenship training in this group was widely advocated with the goal of affirming their whiteness and justifying their eligibility for citizenship, resulting in a population that was largely indistinguishable from the dominant culture (Suleiman, 1999). By the 1960s, although Arab Americans were legally considered White, their experience more closely aligned with that of people of color. America’s Pro-Israel stance during the 1967 Arab-Israel war increased negative media coverage of Middle Easterners, resulting in increased stereotyping and social and political marginalization (Naber, 2000). Lebanese Americans’ technical White identity remains at odds with their lived experience, COUNS LEBANESE AMERICANS 4 affording them the “double burden of being excluded from the full scope of whiteness and from mainstream recognition as people of color” (Cainkar, 2006). In recent years, Arab American civil rights groups have lobbied for a new classification, “Middle East or North Africa (MENA),” to be included on the 2020 Census, officially reclassifying this population as a minority and therefore granting them access to government-based grants and affirmative action in higher education. Further complicating Lebanese Americans’ ethnic identity is the fact that many Lebanese Christians prefer to identify themselves as descendants of Phoenicians rather than Arabs (Haboush, 2005). Despite this shared racial history, Lebanese Americans are heterogeneous in terms of religion, language, and degree of acculturation. Education appears to be important for Arab Americans, with 49% holding a bachelor’s degree and 20% holding a post-graduate degree. Lebanese Americans have a higher homeownership rate (71.6% versus 65.1%) and household income ($67,264 versus $49,445) than the national median (U.S. Census Bureau, 2013). Although the majority of Lebanese Americans speak English, they may also speak Arabic, French, or Armenian in the home. Family Structure and Gender Roles Lebanese Americans tend to be collectivist and group-oriented, with a strong emphasis on family as a major source of one’s identity. Harmony, integrity, and interdependence are emphasized, and obedience and conformity are valued over competition and self-fulfillment (Suleiman, 1999). Families typically have a multigenerational, patriarchal structure characterized by authoritarian parenting and fixed gender roles. In contrast to their western peers who are encouraged to separate from parents and develop independence, Lebanese American children are expected to maintain close relationships with their parents and rely on the family COUNS LEBANESE AMERICANS 5 unit for problem-solving (Haboush, 2005). Decisions regarding dress, education, career, and child-rearing are often made collectively, and romantic partners may be chosen by an individual’s family. Maintaining family honor is a salient concern, and Lebanese Americans often are very private, discussing personal issues only within the family or with very close friends (Suleiman, 1999). For this reason, they may be less likely to pursue counseling or psychiatric care. Although Lebanese Americans have moved toward a more egalitarian view of women, honor and modesty are still utilized as controlling issues, especially for adolescent girls (Suleiman, 1999). Shame and guilt are often used to motivate morality and restrict premarital sexual activity in this group. Boys, on the other hand, are often allowed to embody more of the social characteristics of American society, such as freedom to go out with friends and even date (Suleiman, 1999). This differential treatment extends to some degree into adulthood, and Lebanese American men are generally accorded more sexual freedom than their female counterparts (Haboush, 2005). Despite restrictions placed on females, Lebanese American women hold significant power in the family due to their role in maintaining unity and cohesion (Haboush, 2005). Girls are also encouraged to pursue education and achieve at high levels. Divorce is generally frowned upon in the Lebanese American community. Many Lebanese Christians are forbidden by their religion to divorce; Muslims may be permitted to do so with certain legal stipulations (Abudabbeh, 2005). Religiosity Religion is a major underpinning of ethnic identity for most Lebanese American individuals, functioning not only as a religious code but also dictating cultural, political, and familial norms and beliefs (Suleiman, 1999). The vast majority of Lebanese Americans are COUNS LEBANESE AMERICANS 6 Christian or Muslim, with a smaller percentage identifying as Druze. Lebanese Christians belong predominantly to Eastern Rite churches, including Maronite, Eastern Orthodox, and Melkite/Greek Orthodox. The main branches of Islam practiced by Lebanese Muslims are Sunni and Shiite. Within Islam, the Qur’an is the central religious text, providing guidance on social and family issues, economics, politics, and sexuality (Sue, Sue, Neville, & Smith, 2019). Lebanese Muslims are expected to conduct themselves according to the “Five Pillars of Islam,” tenets that oblige them to declare their faith to God, engage in ritual prayer five times a day, fast annually during daylight hours in the month of Ramadan, give to the poor, and undertake a pilgrimage to Mecca (Abudabbeh, 2005). Some Muslim women wear traditional clothing in the form of a hijab or head covering because of Islam’s emphasis on modesty, a custom subject to much scholarly debate in terms of its impact on oppression and women’s rights (Abudabbeh, 2005). In both Muslim and Christian Lebanese American families, the fear of God is often used to prompt culturally appropriate and respectful behavior (Suleiman, 1999). Due to their strained historical relations during the Crusades and Lebanese civil war, a high amount of tension still exists between Lebanese Muslims and Christians, rendering intermarriage between groups unacceptable (Abudabbeh, 2005). Marriage between Arab Muslims and non-Arab Muslims is also discouraged.
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