Main description:

This book provides insight into the unique challenges facing Indian and South Asian immigrants in the West-particularly in the United States. It explores the "baggage" they carry; their expectations versus the realities of negotiating a new cultural, social, religious, and economic milieu; nostalgia and idealization of the past; and the hybridity of existence. Within this context, the author discusses factors which often contribute to intergenerational family conflict among this population. Jacob asserts that this conflict is largely a product of differences in cultural values and identity, acculturation stress, and the experience of marginality. After analyzing and interpreting empirical data collected from two hundred families, he proposes the "Praxis-Reflection-Action" (PRA) Model: a five-stage therapeutic model and the first pastoral psychotherapeutic model developed for the Asian Indians living in the West.

Contents:

1. Introduction and Overview2. Historical and Cultural Factors in Ethnic Identity Formation of Asian Indian Immigrants: Understanding the Context of Care3. Cultural Identity and Intergenerational Conflicts4. Presentation of Findings and Interpretation of the Empirical Data5. Relationship, Culture, Community and Personhood6. Marginality and Theology of New Marginality7. Cohesive Self and New Marginality: A Mutual Critical Correlation8. Praxis-Reflection-Action Model: An Interdisciplinary Approach of Pastoral Care and Counseling9. Application of Praxis-Reflection-Action Model of Pastoral Counseling