Culture and spirituality can be a very touchy topic. As a healthcare provider, I leave my personal beliefs at the door and try to be respectful the clients. Beliefs, cultures, and spiritual preferences are not always obvious, so when dealing the psychiatric population, I rely on nonverbal communication, like body language and look for eye contact or lack of eye contact to know their preference and try to acknowledge it so the client knows I respect them and their beliefs. I did not encounter any clients with beliefs that are grossly different, but I look forward to interacting with a psychiatric client of different beliefs from my own.
