In working therapeutically with children, young people and adults it has been important to understand the impact on the individual’s personality as a consequence of living between multiple cultural influences, such as the dominant societal culture and their own familial cultural grouping, and the significance of the relationship between identity formation and psychological functioning.  

 

Individuals are bombarded with influences from the outside world as well as inputs from within, confusion and misunderstanding occur.   Cross-cultural issues are complex and a significant motivating force for conflict and distress within families, work and social environments, as a result of differing cultural value bases.  This clash of identities impacts greatly on their self-esteem and emotional self-regulation and many do not feel safe amongst their peer group or within society to talk freely about their religious values and their ethnic identity.  They may feel a need to separate themselves out from their families and communities to fit in with the dominant majority.  It is important to be mindful of children and adults’ daily struggles to find a balance between cultures, neither of which, they feel, they fully belong.  Often many have felt silenced or have felt that their own intrinsic sense of self becomes lost just so they can feel accepted within these individual environments and society.   Often they would have to sit with feelings of shock, discomfort, bewilderment and shame.  The resulting sense of vulnerability and isolation can be profound.  It is imperative, therefore, to encourage detachment from the negative identities others impose which seeks to thwart resilience, personal growth and self-actualisation.  

 

A growing body of evidence from both the biological and social sciences identifies chronic stress response systems remain activated at high levels across a life span as a direct result of coping with adversity.  Indeed, research suggests that constant coping with systemic racism and every day discrimination is a potent activator of the stress response; emotions such as sadness, grief, anger, and anxiety are common responses to trauma. This can have lifelong effects on learning, behaviour, and both physical and mental health (Centre for the Developing Child, Harvard University 2020). It is important to express emotions, to increase our exploratory capacities, to reinforce beliefs around identity, to generate positive experiences around culture so as to enable the pursuit of long term goals.