pathways as Western forms of healing, such as medication (for severe mental illness, depression and a form of schizophrenia), counseling (both in Western and traditional forms), and support groups (usually formed to provide different types of nurturing, skills training and sharing of life’s common difficulties). Westerners who have worked in Cambodia stressed the importance of collaboration between various traditional pathways to healing, such as the monks, the lay people, the elders, community and spiritual leaders, the traditional healers, the birth attendants, the mediums, the local ministry of health and the university. Below is a list of healing or coping pathways that were identified by the providers. The availability of these resources is compared to that in Lowell. The letter in each box indicates the availability of each type of resources and whether they exist in traditional or Western or both. Table 6 shows major types of coping resources emerged from the interviews. Table 6 Types of Coping Resources Types of Coping Resources
Cambodia (C)
Lowell (L)
Traditional (T)
Counseling Buddhism Western Medication Education Support Group Arts & Culture
C C C C C C
L L L
T
L
Western (W)
Both T + W T+W
W T+W T+W T+W
Roles of Counseling. As noted in the literature review, traditionally, counseling was done by Buddhist monks, the elders and some traditional healers, who would