Cultural Immersion Report

Cultural Immersion Report

David Griffin
Wilmington University

Cultural Immersion Report

At New Behavioral Network we work we work with many people. While doing this
we come across different types of cultures. A cultural group that we have limited contact
and experience with is the Japanese culture. The Japanese culture is not very big in
Delaware as it makes up 0.1% of the population with a total of 614 people.
The Japanese culture is one that has a rich history and is responsible for many of
the trends we have in America today. A person may think when asked what do you know
about the Japanese culture and some may say tea drinking, or sushi, but what many do
not know is that the culture is revolves around the concept of wa, or group harmony. In
this culture the value of the common greater good is more important than valuing one's
own needs. This is found in schools, social groups and in the workplace.
In America there is a lack of respect found in the elderly that is not apparent in
the Japanese culture. It is another value of theirs to respect elders for their wisdom and
knowledge. The elderly population is more welcome in the workplace as advisers and
helping the younger workers become more productive, whereas in America the elderly
are not encouraged to work past 65 and retire. Another value that is very strong in this
culture is family. Family is very important and it is not uncommon to have the whole
family of first second and third generations in one household (grandparent, parents, and
children). Taking care of the family is something that is common as well which could
explain the lack of this culture we come in contact with.
To learn more about this culture I was able to do an interview with an old
classmate that is from this culture and lived majority of her life in Japan before moving
to America . Before doing the interview she was told that the purpose of the interview

Cultural Immersion Report

was to gain more insight and knowledge. The starting question was is there a stigma
with mental health? The response was that there is a stigma and that most of the
citizens that may have a mental health issue are encouraged to be as part of the regular
society as possible. The next question was do you think that family is a sacred value?
Her response was yes it is very important because of the meaning of family. They are
the ones that help raise us and teach us and help us grow into the people that we are
today. Because of that we (children) are supposed to show a level of respect and
gratitude.
In the interview the topic of formality and manners was mentioned and it was
asked
If that is an important part of the culture. She responded that in a culture where people
are encouraged to work together and be kind to one another it expected to be friendly.
Of course not everyone is but for the most part people are respectful. She was then
asked to elaborate on what manners and respectful gestures are shown the most. An
example of if on the subway and a lady or elderly person were to not have a seat then a
male is expected to offer their seat to them. If going to visit a person's family it is polite
to bring something for the family such as fruit or a dessert.
The interview shed insight on how families and mannerisms are in this culture. It
was gathered that family is held to a high value and because of that the services that we
offer here are not as needed in this culture. This is due to how they help and support
each other. That in no way means that every family in this culture is perfect and does
not have its issues but they are not as prevalent as they are in western cultures. Some

Cultural Immersion Report

behavior issues are not as frequent in this culture as it was explained in the interview
there is an emphasis on showing respect and manners.
The other immersion activity that was done to learn more about this culture was
the watching of a film called The Family Game. The movie is about a japanese family
that is made up of a father, mother, and their 2 sons. The theme of the movie revolves
around a dysfunctional middle class family and the social roles they take on. The father
is a hard working businessman that does not spend much time with his family. One of
the sons is academically successful while the other is not and needs a tutor, and the
mother is a housewife that is shown as hopeless The movie shows how the social
expectations play a part on the problems that they have and show some issue that can
be created such as lack of communication.
The agency, New Behavioral Network has a community of its own. In that
community it has a feeling that be described as helpful and warm and small. The
populations that reside in the community are african american, caucasian and latino as
the main types of both genders and various ages of newborn to elderly. In the
community we are around the Kent General Hospital, a bank, car repair shops,
barbershops and a few eateries in the agencies neighborhood. Along with that the
neighborhood is located in the heart of Dover so there are many transportation routes to
get there.
People do not come to the agency as frequently as some others due to the way
that the agency is, which is for profit and has contracts. Information about the services
are usually detailed at human service agencies such as Delaware Guidance Services,
or Fellowship Services that tell their clients that we provide extended services in the

Cultural Immersion Report

community to help treatment goals. If those who receive the information and become
clients are to come to the agency the receptivity for the population that was mentioned
earlier would not be as welcome as others would. In the brochures there are very little
people showed in the pictures that are presented in there. The decor is also very basic
and is not what you would find in the culture as well.
The administration does have training about diversity about once a year, and it
serves as a refresher for how to approach different problems in the cultures. An
example would be getting client during ramadan and how we should approach
treatment. The trainings that we have are funded through the profits of the contracts that
we receive. This could explain why there is only one per year.
As far as the staff interaction, they are all sensitive to different cultures. Back in
June we had a culture potluck where we were to bring in something that represented
our culture. NBN has put forth effort to make sure that that different cultures are
respected and known about because we want to be able to help others as much as we
can. As part of the mission we want to be able to help those who need our services and
in order to do that we have to be knowledgeable and respectful of everyone that we
come in contact with.

Cultural Immersion Report

References

Bunch, William. (2009). Japanese Culture: An Inside Look at Values and

Structures. http://mylibrary.wilmu.edu:6609/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=2bf05815059-48c8-bdc2-216ee4148afd%40sessionmgr110&vid=1&hid=124