Serving the Amish: A Cultural Guide for Professionals

251 Pages·2014·1.38 MB·English

by  Cates

Serving the Amish
Young Center Books in Anabaptist Pietist Studies
&
Donald B. Kraybill, Series Editor
.,
Serving the Amish
A Cultural Guide for Professionals
James A. Cates
z
Johns Hopkins University Press
Baltimore
© 2014 Johns Hopkins University Press
All rights reserved. Published 2014
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1
Johns Hopkins University Press
2715 North Charles Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21218-4363
www.press.jhu.edu
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Cates, James A., 1956–
Serving the Amish : a cultural guide for professionals / James A. Cates.
pages cm. — (Young Center books in Anabaptist & Pietist studies)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-1-4214-1495-9 (pbk.) — isbn 978-1-4214-1496-6 (electronic)
— isbn 1-4214-1495-3 (pbk.) — isbn 1-4214-1496-1 (electronic)
1. Amish—Services for. 2. Human services. I. Title.
e184.m45c38 2014
289.7—dc23
2013048637
A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library.
For more information, please visit www.servingtheamish.net.
Special discounts are available for bulk purchases of this book. For more information,
please contact Special Sales at 410-516-6936 or [email protected].
Johns Hopkins University Press uses environmentally friendly book materials,
including recycled text paper that is composed of at least 30 percent
post-consumer waste, whenever possible.
Contents
Preface vii
Acknowledgments xiii
part i
Culture and Context
chapter 1. Strangers and Pilgrims 3
part ii
Life Experience
chapter 2. Changing Views of Human Services 23
chapter 3. Building and Maintaining Rapport 36
chapter 4. Across the Life Span 48
chapter 5. Women’s Issues 60
chapter 6. Sexuality 71
chapter 7. Violence and Abuse 84
chapter 8. Death and Loss 98
part iii
Professional Interaction
chapter 9. Counseling and Psychotherapy 113
chapter 10. Substance Abuse and Addictions 125
z contents å
vi
chapter 11. Law Enforcement and the Judiciary 141
chapter 12. Healthcare Professions 156
chapter 13. Social Work and Social Services 173
part iv
Practical Considerations
chapter 14. Guidelines for Service to the Amish 189
Epilogue 197
appendix a: A Quick Guide to Other Plain Groups 201
appendix b: Mental Health Diagnoses and the Amish 203
appendix c: Suggestions for Further Reading 208
Notes 211
Bibliography 219
Index 227
Preface
. An Amish adolescent with an artistic bent ends his eighth and
final year of education in an Amish school. His teacher sponsors an art
contest, and he is (humility aside) the odds-on favorite to win. His en-
try consists of a log cabin constructed entirely of paper. Tightly rolled
sheets form logs for the walls, a faux brick chimney perches at one end,
and door and windows are carefully cut and framed. The roof hinges
to allow an inner view, where one finds intricately crafted paper furni-
ture, almost all items modest and utilitarian accessories.
The cabin takes second place. It would have swept the field, the art-
ist is told, but for a single feature. In one corner he chose to include a
television, and since such “worldly” pursuits are forbidden, he cannot
be awarded first prize. ,
I
frequently use this story to begin talks about the Amish, for it neatly
symbolizes their view. “The world” has a place: second place. As hu-
man service providers we offer much to Amish communities. They
may learn from us, work with us, and be grateful for our friendship and
support. In turn, we learn much from them. As with any culture, immers-
ing ourselves in an understanding of the Amish worldview broadens our
insights and perceptions of ourselves. And yet there will always be a dis-
tance. By virtue of the choice to be who they are, there are psychological,
social, and emotional separations that defy our full understanding.
The art story is important in another way as well. It reminds us that the
child’s journey to that integral separation is neither straightforward nor
consistent. The artist was in his early teens when he was gently reminded
. preface ,
viii
of the expectations of his sect. He is now a young adult, and I have had
the opportunity to watch him, along with many other adolescents, mature
and develop his views. There is an ebb and flow in their embrace of the
world, dependent on factors known and unknown, seen and unseen. The
social roles—child, adolescent, adult, male and female, lay member and
clergy—that shape our interactions with Amish people are complex and
fluid. A deep grasp of Amish culture requires drawing from still another
tradition—a Zen attitude of patient acquiescence to live within these
ever-changing currents.
This multifaceted separation entails another principle that is difficult
for mainstream American providers to grasp. From cradle to grave, the
Amish are immersed in a communal society. Getting second place in an art
contest for including a television did more than simply remind the young
artist that such media violates the rules. It reinforced for him, and for ev-
ery student in the school, that being Amish is a lifestyle predicated on
certain expectations. To be a part of the community is to fulfill these ex-
pectations. To stray from them is to be reminded—at times gently (as with
a young adolescent not yet baptized into the church), at times harshly (as
with an adult member who violates the rules in an egregious manner)—
that one’s first loyalty is to the community. As mainstream Americans, we
take our individualism for granted. A public school art contest without
specific rules would include a panoply of media, subjects, and designs.
The Amish contest described did not need specific rules, for the scholars
(as the Amish call their students) knew the moral limits to media and sub-
ject matter available. There is room for individual navigation within this
collective system, but the community keeps a watchful eye on just how far
an individual strays.
This book details hard-won principles for care and interaction with
Amish people in human service and health care settings—interactions
that often fall uncomfortably outside the daily routines of the Amish and
the professionals who serve them. These are anxious moments in which
outside “worldly” interests intrude most forcefully into Amish lives and
traditions. The primary principles of this project rest on a foundation of
treatment, care, and professional interaction that are germane to working
with any group. Still, these generic formulas must be adapted in sensi-
tive ways to meet the distinctive needs and cultural patterns of Amish
people. With that purpose in mind, I use ample anecdotal evidence and
first-person narratives (each disguised to protect the actual participants)
. preface ,
ix
to illustrate the culturally specific modes of professional interaction essen-
tial for effectively serving members of this unique American subculture.
What are the key features that distinguish professionals who
are capable of crossing over cultural barriers? In Serving the Amish I argue
that effective professional care requires more than a rudimentary grasp of
Amish cultural values and social practices. I make the distinction between
respecting and accepting the beliefs of clients who live in a very different
world than the professionals who serve them. Professional service pro-
viders can learn to respect the beliefs of different cultural groups while
not accepting them as their own. Regardless of the particular field, three
principles of care are essential to developing an effective professional rela-
tionship with Amish people.
First, there is no such thing as a “simple” interaction. In a collective so-
ciety like the Amish, the intricacies of a single relationship spread like
ripples from a stone tossed into a quiet pond. Based on their experience,
Amish people are quick to label agencies and professionals with positive
or pejorative adjectives. In a face-to-face society based on oral communica-
tion, these tags become potent pointers that guide others toward or away
from a particular provider or agency.
Second, virtually all professional care revolves around the integrity of
relationships. However, in the context of Amish culture integrity requires
a degree of transparency from service providers that non-Amish clients
and patients would not anticipate or even consider comfortable. It is not a
matter of professionals sharing more of their personal experiences. Rather,
it is a subtle “shedding” of the professional persona. For example, I often
feel myself slipping into “therapist mode” as someone talks, analyzing in-
formation, developing and discarding hypotheses, and making clinical
interpretations as I prepare to respond. It is a role that serves me well in
many situations, but it is also a “role” in a professional interaction. The
Amish do not parse interpersonal experience into discrete roles. They are
the same person across family, church, and business. The differentiation of
roles is what distinguishes professional providers as agents of the outside
world. Providers most capable of being genuine and real across different
social settings—who can subtly shed some of their professional persona—
have the greatest access to and success in Amish communities.
Third, many standard protocols and professional procedures need to be
modified to respect Amish spiritual beliefs and cultural practices in order