An Autoethnography of a Bilingual Therapist Working with Haitian Clients: Reconnecting to Home
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Nova Southeastern University NSUWorks Department of Family Therapy Dissertations CAHSS Theses, Dissertations, and Applied and Applied Clinical Projects Clinical Projects 2019 An Autoethnography of a Bilingual Therapist Working with Haitian Clients: Reconnecting to Home Marie Philomise Joseph Nova Southeastern University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/shss_dft_etd Part of the Counseling Commons, Marriage and Family Therapy and Counseling Commons, Psychiatry and Psychology Commons, and the Rehabilitation and Therapy Commons Share Feedback About This Item NSUWorks Citation Marie Philomise Joseph. 2019. An Autoethnography of a Bilingual Therapist Working with Haitian Clients: Reconnecting to Home. Doctoral dissertation. Nova Southeastern University. Retrieved from NSUWorks, College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences – Department of Family Therapy. (62) https://nsuworks.nova.edu/shss_dft_etd/62. This Dissertation is brought to you by the CAHSS Theses, Dissertations, and Applied Clinical Projects at NSUWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Department of Family Therapy Dissertations and Applied Clinical Projects by an authorized administrator of NSUWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. An Autoethnography of a Bilingual Therapist Working with Haitian Clients: Reconnecting to Home by Marie Philomise Joseph A Dissertation Submitted to the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences of Nova Southeastern University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Nova Southeastern University 2019 Copyright By Marie Philomise Joseph April 2019 Dedication I dedicate this dissertation first to God who has been faithfully present, providing for me all that was necessary for me to persevere through life including the accomplishment of writing this dissertation. I also dedicate this dissertation to my father, Gessin Joseph, who has been a source of inspiration and motivation for me in my pursuit of my academic journey. He was a Haitian immigrant with a big dream that his children and grandchildren would have the opportunity to be well-educated, and his dream continues to live on. iv Acknowledgements Throughout my life journey, I have trusted in God to help me persevere and never give up. Accomplishing the task of writing this dissertation is a testimony in itself of my dependence and belief in God. I want to thank God for blessing me with so many wonderful people in my life. I have people who pray for me when I am down and need encouragement. I have been blessed to have my three daughters, Dannielle, Marlynne, and Pascale who have been my saving grace. They came into my life when I needed someone to give me a purpose to live. Having you ladies in my life has been truly an inspiration. I thank God each and every day for you. My precious Marlynne, I truly appreciate all the tender loving care you have shown me. I thank you for praying for me when I was discouraged and for being my cheerleader. I am grateful for your input into me writing this dissertation. I could not have done it without you. First and foremost, I would like to thank and give my appreciation to my dissertation chair, Ronald Chenail, for his confidence, support, and guidance. Dr. Chenail helped me to remain focused on the task of writing this dissertation. He made himself always available to answer my questions and assist me with what I needed to move forward in my dissertation process. I also would like to thank Dr. Tommie V. Boyd. I am very grateful that I met Dr. Boyd when I decided to enroll as a non-degree student in the family studies certificate program. She was instrumental in me matriculating into the Marriage and Family v Therapy (MFT) Masters Program. She has always been an encourager and always available and willing to help with whatever questions I had. Her door is always open. I also would like to thank Dr. Anne Rambo. I have had the privilege in my academic journey to sit under the didactic teachings of Dr. Rambo. I remember taking a summer class with her, and I was petrified due to the rigor of the course. I have sat in her class in awe of her extensive knowledge. Her caring approach toward students is unquestionable. She always has been a voice of confirmation. A very special thank you and deep appreciation to my mentors for their support, encouragement, motivation, and inspiration. They have been my team of experts who have reviewed and been my interpretive community. I especially would like to thank Dr. Charlene Désir, who studies Haitian culture and is a qualitative research professor. I thank you for being there for me with your consistent support. You were never too busy to help and answer all my questions. Your involvement in me writing this dissertation means more to me than mere words can express. I would like to thank Dr. Arlene Brett Gordon, professor, MFT Brief Therapy Institute Director and my clinical supervisor. I am forever grateful to you for helping me to grow in knowledge and in the practice of psychotherapy. From my first practicum class with you, you showed me kindness, gentleness, understanding, and patience. I admire the way you used my failures as teaching tools to help me grow as a novice therapist. It meant more to me than I can put into words. I thank you for always looking for the best way to help students achieve their goals and life success. vi I would like to thank Dr. Fanya Jabouin-Monnay, a licensed clinician and my clinical supervisor who has mentored many interns in the field. My dear friend Fanya, I thank you for inspiring me to pursue my doctoral degree. I thank you for being contributory in my clinical growth as a family therapist. As my clinical supervisor, you were very involved in my learning process and progress. You taught me how to practice therapy in the Haitian Creole language and expanded my therapeutic lens–that in itself is unmeasurable. Your motivation carried me through the challenges in writing this dissertation. You are a wonderful sister and friend. I have to thank Dr. Vardine Siméus, a dancer, clinician, professor, editor, and a very dear friend. Vardine has been with me every step of the way. I want to thank you for wiping my tears and for your sweet gentle hugs. I thank you for all the delicious meals and all the precious moments. You are truly a blessing from God. You and your son David pray for me every day. I cannot thank you enough for the love you have shown me. I want to thank the dean, my professors, colleagues, and friends from the Marriage and Family Therapy Program for their support, inspiration, and the opportunity for professional development. I want to acknowledge the support staff and the librarians for helping me with the process of accessing the material for this research study. I especially thank my friends at Church World Service for opening up your doors and allowing me to be a part of your staff family for over three years. I want to thank Oscar Rivera, Craig Marcklinger, and Adrian Duranona for their vision and for initiating this project. Mr. Jean Desmorne, Vilsaint Duverseau and Mrs. Edele Firmin, I thank you vii for your caring service to the Haitian community. Essentially, I thank all of you for making this research project possible. I would like to thank my mother for the sacrifices she made so that I could have a better life. I would like to thank my father who was a stern believer in education who inspired me in my studies. Over the years, my father has always been the voice in my head when I am in the classroom. During my education journey, whenever I would feel discouraged about the workload, I would remember my father saying to me “you can accomplish anything, you have the Joseph brain.” He believed in my ability to accomplish great things in my life. I want to thank my sisters, brothers, nephews, and nieces. I want to thank each of my family members for taking part in assisting me to tell my story. Having faith in God at all times during all circumstances reflects my ability to move forward because my father always tells us that with God all things are possible. My friends have been the joy of my life. They are what I call God-sent. I would like to personally acknowledge and thank my friends Karen Miller, Evelyne Philogene, Precile Lozama, Quynh Chi Do, Alnora Sands, Kimika Moore, and Joshua Williams for their prayers, encouragement, and for their faith in me when I did not have it in myself. Finally, yet importantly, I want to honor and thank Dr. Kathleen Hagen for her friendship, support, and for editing. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ..............................................................................................................v List of Pictures ................................................................................................................. xiii Abstract ............................................................................................................................ xiv CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................1 My Humble Influential Beginning ...........................................................................2 My Humble Beginning in the United States ............................................................6 The Joseph Dream Continues ..................................................................................7 The Start of the Internship Project at Church World Service ................................11