原住民兒童團體之帶領經驗初探與反思

Preliminary Exploration of and Reflections upon Experiences in Leading Group Counseling Sessions with Indigenous Children

服務多元文化族群已經成為心理諮商工作者必備之能力，然而，原住民族群一直是諮商輔導實務與研究被忽略的對象，原住民心理服務也進展緩慢。本研究旨在瞭解種族文化差異下，心理相關系所學生帶領原住民兒童團體遭遇的重要事件與處理，期望能發現以原住民兒童為對象之兒童團體帶領策略，有助於未來發展出具原住民文化知能的心理服務。本研究採質性研究之主題分析法，以半結構深入訪談了解至兩所原住民國小帶領四個兒童團體之13位諮商系所學生受訓與帶領的經驗。本研究發現包含領導者對原住民族文化、兒童團體之準備；團體過程重要現象與彈性因應；帶領原住民兒童團體帶來的收穫與成長三個主題。領導者在帶領前擔心原住民成員是否很難配合團體活動，想像原住民成員發生衝突可能狀況及帶領的過程中可能遇到困難。帶領過程中的重要事件包含成員討論領導者自覺與成員年齡不符的主題、成員肢體碰撞、成員悠閒態度、用族語開玩笑。領導者透過帶領原住民兒童團體，得以認識原住民文化、覺察自身的刻板印象，並且觀察與理解原住民兒童成員的主體性需求、想法和情緒感受以及行為，藉此互利之機會，領導者反思自身態度並納入文化的視角，不受傳統諮商所侷限，而能調整介入之方案與策略。

Indigenous peoples are a major part of Taiwan’s cultural diversity. After amendments were made to the Education Act for Indigenous Peoples, contemporary educational policies started to promote the implementation of indigenous education in schools to raise awareness of indigenous languages and cultures in Taiwan as well as foster multiculture awareness. In addition, departments involved in the training of counselors started reflecting upon the problems faced by Indigenous peoples and the practicalities of training within a multicultural context. In psychological counseling, providing services to multicultural groups is a requisite competence for personnel, with education being an integral component in cultivating students’multicultural knowledge and skills. For professionals, the experiences gained by entering the workforce can help improve their practical skills and reduce the gap between theory and practice. Professionals who lack cultural sensitivity are typically susceptible to ethnocentrism, oppressing, dominating, and stigmatizing Indigenous peoples, indicating the importance of fostering cultural sensitivity while emphasizing knowledge regarding Indigenous peoples. Indigenous peoples have historically been overlooked in counseling practice and research, leading to a slow progression in indigenous counseling services. Group counseling remains a major component in the skill training courses offered by counseling departments to many candidates, and providing counseling services to people from different cultural backgrounds has become essential.
Motivated by the practice of group counseling in indigenous schools, this study sought to promote the training and cultivation of multicultural counseling skills. Its findings are expected to enhance the thoroughness of the cultivation process while mitigating leadership frustrations associated with the development of appropriate intervention techniques, which benefit counselors seeking to conduct group counseling for children in indigenous schools. Overall, the study focused on the preparation stage before leading group counseling sessions, the key considerations involved in these sessions, and the reflective process for growth after conducting group sessions, with a focus on leading group sessions with students in an indigenous school. The goal was to identify appropriate strategies for leading group counseling sessions with indigenous children and to offer culturally appropriate psychological services. The study findings provide valuable insights into the development of indigenous psychological services in the future.
A qualitative thematic analysis was conducted using Braun and Clarke’s approach to collect the interview data and comprehensively examine certain complex topics. A total of 13 trained university students were interviewed to determine their experiences with indigenous children while leading four group counseling sessions in two indigenous elementary schools (School A and School B) over 4 weeks. School A comprised both Paiwan and Rukai students, with a student body of approximately 100 students. School B, a century-old school, primarily comprised Paiwan students, with a student body of approximately 200 students, along with a minority of Rukai students and students from other ethnicities. Session leaders and interview respondents were openly recruited, where the session leaders were selected from among the undergraduate and graduate students of any department within the university; the only criterion of eligibility was having completed a counseling course. The university students and Indigenous children were encouraged to participate to foster the former’s interest in counseling the latter . Each group of children was led by three students, with a senior member serving as the group leader. Leadership was based on a collaborative mentor–apprentice model, with responsibilities divided so that psychology students or those with stronger practical skills led the discussions and managed the counseling and group sessions. Although the first author is a teacher in the psychological counseling department, the group counseling sessions discussed in this study were conducted during the summer break and not during the school semester.
The findings of this study can be divided into three themes: Leaders’preparations for indigenous children, major phenomena and flexible responses during group sessions, and lessons from leading group sessions with indigenous children. Almost all respondents reported having experiences with Indigenous peoples at school or having indigenous classmates from elementary school to university. Group leaders raised concerns regarding whether indigenous students would face difficulties during group activities, imagining scenarios that may involve conflicts with these students while leading group sessions. All respondents reported experiencing culture shock in indigenous schools and admired the fact that these children could learn in a curricular environment that is fully integrated with indigenous culture.
During the interviews, the respondents reported difficulties in establishing relationships with indigenous children during the early stage of group counseling. Despite their active personalities, the children were not active sharers, and even when they were willing to share, they did so awkwardly. After gaining insights into the lives and experiences of Indigenous peoples through the relationships established in the group development stage, the respondents reported that the children became more willing to share their stories and feelings before the end of the group counseling sessions. The major events that occurred during the counseling sessions included the children discussing topics that the leaders perceived to be age-inappropriate, the children physically colliding with one another, the children adopting relaxed attitudes, and the children making jokes in their indigenous languages. Consequently, the group leaders revised the counseling program depending on the circumstances of each group to address group conflicts in a timely manner. These revisions included enhancing the children’s activities and participation and making adjustments to the group session parameters. These timely revisions promoted the group leaders’self-confidence and sense of accomplishment.
Among the lessons learned from the group counseling sessions were becoming aware of different leadership styles and abilities, learning how to make adjustments to leadership skills, improving one’s cultural sensitivity, increasing one’s interest in indigenous cultures, and establishing one’s professional self-confidence and sense of accomplishment. In addition, the reflective process of counseling enhanced the group leaders’awareness of authority figures and their own interpersonal patterns, the management of group time and activities, the boundaries of the children, and the level of dedication to each group. The group leaders also began to understand the unique features of indigenous cultures, including the active personalities of indigenous children, the indigenous concepts of family, the issues that Indigenous peoples care about, and the lack of confidence among Indigenous peoples in their own cultures. Reflecting upon and understanding these lessons expanded the respondents’multicultural knowledge and awareness. Guiding indigenous children through group counseling also enabled the respondents to address their stereotypical views of Indigenous peoples and increase their cultural openness and sensitivity; it also triggered high levels of interest in indigenous cultures. Through the children’s feedback and collaboration with coleaders (observing and learning from each other), the respondents gradually fostered professional confidence and a sense of accomplishment, enhancing their job identification and engagement. In summary, through the experiences of guiding indigenous children in group counseling sessions, the group leaders were introduced to indigenous cultures and learned how to be aware of their own stereotypes while observing and understanding the subjective needs, thoughts, emotions, and behaviors of indigenous children. These opportunities for reciprocity enabled the group leaders to reflect upon their own attitudes and adopt a cultural perspective while altering their intervention plans and strategies outside the constraints of conventional counseling. This approach improved the group leaders’multicultural counseling skills and enabled the development of group counseling strategies incorporating the features of indigenous cultures.
Access to psychological services is not equitable, particularly among Indigenous peoples. This study focused on cross-cultural counseling, which seeks to provide students with practical experiences in indigenous schools and introduce group counseling into indigenous schools. By engaging in counseling sessions for indigenous children, the group leaders were introduced to different indigenous cultures, learned how to be aware of their own stereotypes, and observed and understood the subjective needs, thoughts, emotions, and behaviors of indigenous children. These opportunities for reciprocity enabled the group leaders to reflect upon their own attitudes and incorporate different cultural perspectives to develop culturally appropriate intervention plans and strategies that are not constrained by conventional counseling. In summary, this approach enhanced the group leaders’multicultural competence and contributed to the development of group counseling strategies incorporating the cultural features of Indigenous peoples.
This study offers two recommendations for training and research on leading group counseling sessions. Education and training should be integrated into the curriculum of indigenous teachers, with a focus on integrated classes and awareness of traditional indigenous cultures and histories for professional counselors. Further steps may include cultivating knowledge of indigenous cultures and proficiency in indigenous languages to enhance the services provided in indigenous schools and communities. In terms of training counselors for indigenous groups, further exploration into how cultural identification influences the understanding of living experiences in other cultures beyond the awareness of cultural differences can enhance cultural sensitivity and awareness of cultural stereotypes. Learning simple conversational indigenous languages can also facilitate building relationships with group members. In addition to modifications to group counseling based on actual work conditions, the supervisory opinions of indigenous experts can be implemented to defy the conventions of western group counseling and construct group counseling frameworks and content appropriate to local indigenous groups.