The Impact of Culturally Sensitive Counselling on Terminally Ill Persons

Palliative care facilitates personalised treatment of the terminally ill and improves care quality and outcomes. It ensures that care providers deliver services that make patients comfortable at this stage of life (Semlali et al., 2020). It produces positive psychological outcomes among those experiencing distress. Colón and Wladkowski (2019) noted that therapists who appear warm and welcoming during counselling create a stronger bond with patients from minority communities. Integrating culturally sensitive counselling into palliative care enhances care delivery to these patients.

In contrast, counselling is less effective with therapists who seem distant. Other studies show that using a language the patient is familiar with and mimicking behaviors relatable to their culture helps them become more interested in therapy (Breitbart & Chochinov, 2022). This approach helps ease tension between therapists and already distressed clients. It leads to increased patient participation and engagement in counselling. Ref also noted that culturally sensitive counselling improves understanding, increasing patient safety and reducing inefficiencies.

Supporters of culturally competent end-of-life counselling argue that it provides therapists with a platform to vary the therapeutic approach from one client to another, depending on the client's culture, instead of applying similar treatment standards for all clients (Brooks et al., 2019). This approach also improves the therapeutic alliance. Although some healthcare professionals argue that focusing on cultural differences may offend some clients and subsequently damage the therapeutic alliance, it is generally accepted that acknowledging and respecting someone’s culture, beliefs, and values can lead to more effective treatment and positive outcomes for clients and therapists. Even if the care provider and the palliative care patient hail from different cultures, cultural sensitivity draws clients closer to the therapist than those who feel ignored and disrespected (Lee & Ramaswamy, 2020).

Conclusion

The emotional well-being of terminally ill persons is crucial and plays a critical role in easing tension at this critical stage. Therefore, it is imperative to consider factors that influence the psychosocial well-being of this group and integrate them into care. Terminal illnesses disrupt the psychological well-being of a person. Many patients cannot cope with the overwhelming need to leave a legacy and cope with spiritual, cultural, and interpersonal issues arising at this stage. The thought of dying soon leaves many psychologically and emotionally isolated. The patients are also overwhelmed by psychotic symptoms like depression, delirium, fear, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. These symptoms cause emotional distress and affect the already damaged quality of life. Care providers use different interventions to make the dying process less challenging. These interventions include medications and psychotherapy. However, individuals have unique attributes that cause variations in the therapy's effectiveness. Therefore, employing interventions that focus on the cultural and personal attributes of the client creates a solid platform to achieve the anticipated outcomes. For instance, therapists employ culturally sensitive counselling to reduce emotional distress in palliative care patients. This approach incorporates the client’s cultural values, beliefs, needs, and preferences into therapy, thus improving therapeutic alliance. Culturally sensitive counselling includes incorporating cultural values, beliefs, systems, and practices into counselling to improve the quality of palliative care. This approach reassures the patients by making them feel respected and included in the care plan.

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