The Use of Reframing in Clinical Practice with Chinese Immigrants

Abstract

Abstract Reframing can be an effective tool in enhancing a clinical practice that is based on a holistic understanding of the client's meaning systems, and the strengths and resilience exemplified in the client's life experience. Immigrant clients, who are often marginalized in society due to their markedly different sociocultural backgrounds and the pernicious effects of racism, tend to struggle with belief systems that are subjugated by those of the host country and internalize their losses and setbacks as personal deficits and failures. Two case vignettes of Chinese immigrants will be used to discuss how reframing can offer positive yet culturally relevant options for clients to create new meanings and adaptive behavior in their life situations.