Counseling of Arab-Americans Analytical Essay by Top Papers

The paper looks at how Vacc, Devaney and Brendel (2003) state that the most significant issue connected to counseling Arab-Americans relate to both the historical perceptions of the social group, as well as the social perceptions of this portion of the population (p. 119). The paper discusses how Vacc, Devaney and Brendel (2004) argue that throughout history the Arab-American has been capable of disappearing into the "melting pot" because he or she is often confused with many other social groups, such as Hispanics, Asians or Native Americans (p. 119). The paper discusses how historically, Arab-Americans have ignored their heritage or even attempted to hide it because of the general perception in the United States that this heritage somehow held negative connotations and that those of Arab ancestry would not be accepted socially, and after September 11th, this willingness to hide their heritage became almost a necessity because of the general American sentiment that all people of an Arab background were terrorists (p. 119). Yet, the paper looks at how Vacc, Devaney and Brendel (2003) specify that over the course of time the need for Arab-Americans to defend their heritage and potentially prove themselves to be valuable members of society has overtaken fear and more Arab-Americans are now demonstrating pride in their culture (p. 119).