Therapeutic Recreation Models

Therapeutic Recreation Models Therapeutic Recreation seeks to promote the capacity and ability of groups and individuals to make self determined and responsible choices, in light of their needs to grow, to explore new perspectives and possibilities, and to realise their full potential. Within this assignment I am going to critically compare and evaluate the use of the following models in the Therapeutic Recreation Service: The Leisure Ability Model and the Health Promotion/ Health Protection Model. In doing so I will firstly describe the two models in detail and then critically compare and evaluate them both and their use in the therapeutic recreation service. The Leisure Ability Model: Every human being needs, wants, and deserves leisure. Leisure presents opportunities to experience mastery, learn new skills, meet new people, deepen existing relationships, and develop a clearer sense of self. Leisure provides the context in which people can learn, interact, express individualism, and self-actualize (Kelly, 1990). A large number of individuals are constrained from full and satisfying leisure experiences. It then follows that many individuals with disabilities and/or illnesses may experience more frequent, severe, or lasting barriers compared with their non-disabled counterparts, simply due to the presence of disability and/or illness. The Leisure Ability Models underlying basis stems from the concepts of: (a) learned helplessness vs. mastery or self-determination; (b) intrinsic motivation, internal locus of control, and causal attribution; (c) choice; and (d) flow. Learned Helplessness: Learned helplessness is the perception by an individual that events happening in his or her life are beyond his or her personal control, and therefore, the individual stops trying to effect changes or outcomes with his or her life (Seligman, 1975). They will eventually stop wanting to participate in activity or participate in any other way. They will learn that the rules are outside of their control and someone else is in charge of setting the rules. Their ability to take a risk will be diminished and they will learn to be helpless. Learned helplessness may present a psychological barrier to full leisure participation and it may, conversely, be unlearned with the provision of well-designed services. Intrinsic Motivation, Internal Locus of Control, and Causal Attribution: All individuals are intrinsically motivated toward behaviour in which they can experience competence and self-determination. As such, individuals seek experiences of incongruity or challenges in which they can master the situation, reduce the incongruity, and show competence. This process is continual and through skill acquisition and mastery, produces feelings of satisfaction, competence, and control. An internal locus of control implies that the individual has the orientation that he or she is responsible for the behaviour and outcomes he or she produces (Deci, 1975). Typically individuals with an internal locus of control take responsibility for their decisions and the consequences of their decisions, while an individual with an external locus of control will place responsibility, credit, and blame on other individuals. An internal locus of control is important for the individual to feel self-directed or responsible, be motivated to continue to seek challenges, and develop a sense of self-competence. http://dw.com.com/redir?tag=rbxira.2.a.10destUrl=http://www.cnet.com/b.gif Attribution implies that an individual believes that he or she can affect a particular outcome (Deci, 1975; Seligman, 1975). An important aspect of the sense of accomplishment, competence, and control is the individuals interpretation of personal contribution to the outcome. Without a sense of personal causation, the likelihood of the individual developing learned helplessness increases greatly. Choice: The Leisure Ability Model also relies heavily on the concept of choice, choice implies that the individual has sufficient skills, knowledge, and attitudes to be able to have options from which to choose, and the skills and desires to make appropriate choices. Lee and Mobily (1988) stated that therapeutic recreation services should build skills and provide participants with options for participation. Flow: When skill level is high and activity challenge is low, the individual is quite likely to be bored. When the skill level is low and the activity challenge is high, the individual is most likely to be anxious. When the skill level and activity challenge are identical or nearly identical, the individual is most able to achieve a state of concentration and energy expenditure that Csikszentmihalyi (1990) has labeled flow. Treatment Services During treatment services, the client generally has less control over the intent of the programs and is dependent on the professional judgment and guidance provided by the specialist. The client experiences less freedom of choice during treatment services than any other category of therapeutic recreation service. The role of the specialist providing treatment services is that of therapist. Within treatment services, the client has minimal control and the therapist has maximum control. The specialist typically designates the clients level and type of involvement, with considerably little input from the client. In order to successfully produce client outcomes, the specialist must be able to assess accurately the clients functional deficits; create, design, and implement specific interventions to improve these deficits; and evaluate the client outcomes achieved from treatment programs. http://dw.com.com/redir?tag=rbxira.2.a.10destUrl=http://www.cnet.com/b.gifThe ultimate outcome of treatment services is to eliminate, significantly improve, or teach the client to adapt to existing functional limitations that hamper efforts to engage fully in leisure pursuits. Often these functional deficits are to the degree that the client has difficulty learning, developing his or her full potential, interacting with others, or being independent. The aim of treatment services is to reduce these barriers so further learning and involvement by the client can take place. Leisure Education: Leisure education services focus on the client acquiring leisure-related attitudes, knowledge, and skills. Participating successfully in leisure requires a diverse range of skills and abilities, and many clients of therapeutic recreation services do not possess these, have not been able to use them in their leisure time, or need to re-learn them incorporating the effects of their illness and/ or disability. Leisure education services are provided to meet a wide range of client needs related to engaging in a variety of leisure activities and experiences. (Howe, 1989, p. 207). The overall outcome sought through leisure education services is a client who has enough knowledge and skills that an informed and independent choice can be made for his or her future leisure participation. Leisure education means increased freedom of choice, increased locus of control, increased intrinsic motivation, and increased independence for the client. Recreation Participation: http://dw.com.com/redir?tag=rbxira.2.a.10destUrl=http://www.cnet.com/b.gif Recreation participation programs are structured activities that allow the client to practice newly acquired skills, and/or experience enjoyment and self-expression. These programs are provided to allow the client greater freedom of choice within an organized delivery system and may, in fact, be part of the individuals leisure lifestyle. The clients role in recreation participation programs includes greater decision making and increased self-regulated behaviour. The client has increased freedom of choice and his or her motivation is largely intrinsic. In these programs, the specialist is generally no longer teaching or in charge per se. The client becomes largely responsible for his or her own experience and outcome, with the specialist moving to an organizer and/or supervisor role. As Stumbo and Peterson (1998) noted, recreation participation allows the client an opportunity to practice new skills, experience enjoyment, and achieve self-expression. From a clinical perspective, recreation participation does much more. For instance, recreation opportunities provide clients with respite from other, more arduous, therapy services. Leisure education programs may focus on: (a) self-awareness in relation to clients new status; (b) learning social skills such as assertiveness, coping, and friendship making; (c) re-learning or adapting pre-morbid leisure skills; and (d) locating leisure resources appropriate to new interests and that are accessible. Recreation participation programs may involve practicing a variety of new leisure and social skills in a safe, structured environment. In designing and implementing these programs, the specialist builds on opportunities for the individual to exercise control, mastery, intrinsic motivation, and choice. The ultimate outcome would be for each client to be able to adapt to and cope with individual disability to the extent that he or she will experience a satisfying and independent leisure lifestyle, and be able to master skills to achieve flow. Health Promotion/ Health Protection Model: The Health Protection/Health Promotion Model (Austin, 1996, 1997) stipulates that the purpose of therapeutic recreation is to assist persons to recover following threats to health, by helping them to restore themselves or regain stability. (health protection), and secondly, optimising their potentials in order that they may enjoy as high a quality of health as possible (health promotion). Within this model (Austin, 1997, p. 144) states that â€Å"the mission of therapeutic recreation is to use activity, recreation, and leisure to help people to deal with problems that serve as barriers to health and to assist them to grow toward their highest levels of health and wellness The health promotion, health protection model is broken up into four broad concepts which are the humanistic perspective, high level wellness, stabilisation and actualisation and health. Humanistic Perspective: Those who embrace the humanistic perspective believe that each of us has the responsibility for his or her own health and the capacity for making self-directed and wise choices regarding our health. Since individuals are responsible for their own health, it is critical to empower individuals to become involved in decision-making to the fullest extent possible (Austin, 1997). High-Level Wellness: High-level wellness deals with helping persons to achieve as high a level of wellness as they are capable of achieving (Austin, 1997). Therapeutic Recreation professionals have concern for the full range of the illness-wellness continuum (Austin, 1997). http://dw.com.com/redir?tag=rbxira.2.a.10destUrl=http://www.cnet.com/b.gif Stabilization and Actualization Tendencies: The stabilizing tendency is concerned with maintaining the steady state of the individual. It is an adaptation mechanism that helps us keep stress in a manageable range. It protects us from biophysical and psychosocial harm. The stabilizing tendency is the motivational force behind health protection that focuses on efforts to move away from or avoid negatively valence states of illness and injury (Pender, 1996, p. 34). The actualization tendency drives us toward health promotion that focuses on efforts to approach or move toward a positively valence state of high-level health and well-being (Pender, 1996, p. 34). Health: King (1971) and Pender (1996) health encompasses both coping adaptively and growing and becoming. Healthy people can cope with lifes stressors. Those who enjoy optimal health have the opportunity to pursue the highest levels of personal growth and development. Under the Health Protection/Health Promotion Model, therapists* recognize that to help clients strive toward health promotion is the ultimate goal of therapeutic recreation. Further, therapists prize the right of each individual to pursue his or her highest state of well-being, or optimal health. TR practice is therefore based on a philosophy that encourages clients to attempt to achieve maximum health, rather than just recover from illness (Austin, 1997). The Component of Prescriptive Activities: When clients initially encounter illnesses or disorders, often they become self-absorbed. They have a tendency to withdraw from their usual life activities and to experience a loss of control over their lives (Flynn, 1980). Research (e.g., Langer Rodin, 1976; Seligman Maier, 1967) has shown that feelings of lack of control may bring about a sense of helplessness that can ultimately produce severe depression. At times such as this clients are encountering a significant threat to their health and are not prepared to enjoy and benefit from recreation or leisure. For these individuals, activity is a necessary prerequisite to health restoration. Activity is a means for them to begin to gain control over their situation and to overcome feelings of helplessness and depression that regularly accompany loss of control. At this point on the continuum, Therapeutic Recreation professionals provide direction and structure for prescribed activities. Once engaged in activity, clients can begin to perceive themselves as being able to successfully interact with their environments, to start to experience feelings of success and mastery, and to take steps toward regaining a sense of control. Clients come to realise that they are not passive victims but can take action to restore their health. They are then ready to partake in the recreation component of treatment. The Recreation Component: Recreation is activities that take place during leisure time (Kraus. 1971). Client need to take part in intrinsically motivated recreation experiences that produce a sense of mastery and accomplishment within a supportive and nonthreatening atmosphere. Clients have fun as they learn new skills, new behaviors, new ways to interact with others, new philosophies and values, and new cognition about themselves. In short, they learn that they can be successful in their interactions with the world. Through recreation they are able to re-create themselves, thus combating threats to health and restoring stability. http://dw.com.com/redir?tag=rbxira.2.a.10destUrl=http://www.cnet.com/b.gif The Leisure Component: Whereas recreation allows people to restore themselves, leisure is growth promoting. Leisure is a means to self-actualisation because it allows people to have self-determined opportunities to expand themselves by successfully using their abilities to meet challenges. Feelings of accomplishment, confidence and pleasure result from such growth producing experiences. Thus leisure assumes an important role in assisting people to reach their potentials (Iso-Ahola, 1989). Core elements in leisure seem to be that it is freely chosen and intrinsically motivated. The Recreation and Leisure Components: Although recreation and leisure differ in that recreation is an adaptive device that allows us to restore ourselves and leisure is a phenomenon that allows growth, they share commonalities. Both recreation and leisure are free from constraint. Both involve intrinsic motivation and both provide an opportunity for people to experience a tremendous amount of control in their lives. Both permit us to suspend everyday rules and conventions in order to be ourselves and let our hair down. Both allow us to be human with all of our imperfections and frailties. It is the task of the therapeutic recreation professional to maintain an open, supportive, and nonthreatening atmosphere that encourages these positive attributes of recreation and leisure and which help to bring about therapeutic benefit (Austin, 1996). http://dw.com.com/redir?tag=rbxira.2.a.10destUrl=http://www.cnet.com/b.gif According to Bandura (1986), bolstered efficacy expectations allow clients to have confidence in themselves and in their abilities to succeed in the face of frustration. Thus, clients feel more and more able to be in control of their lives and to meet adversity as they move along the continuum toward higher levels of health. It is the role of the TR professional to help each client assume increasing levels of independence as he or she moves along the illness-wellness continuum. Of course, the client with the greatest dependence on the therapist will be the individual who is in the poorest health. At this point the stabilizing tendency is paramount while the client attempts to ward off the threat to health and to return to his or her usual stable state. At this time the therapist engages the client in prescriptive activities or recreation experiences in order to assist the client with health protection. During prescriptive activities the clients control is the smallest and the therapi sts is the largest. During recreation there is more of a mutual participation by the client and therapist. With the help of the therapist, the client learns to select, and participate in, recreation experiences that promote health improvement. Approximately midway across the continuum, the stabilising tendency reduces and the actualising tendency begins to arise. Leisure begins to emerge as the paramount paradigm. As the actualisation tendency increases, the client becomes less and less dependent on the therapist and more and more responsible for self-determination. The role of the therapist continues to diminish until the client is able to function without the helper. At this point the client can function relatively independently of the TR professional and there is no need for TR service delivery (Austin, 1997). Comparison of the use of the Leisure Ability Model to the Health Promotion/ Health Protection Model in Therapeutic Recreation Services: The role of the therapeutic recreation specialist, in order to reverse the consequences of learned helplessness, is to assist the individual in: (a) increasing the sense of personal causation and internal control, (b) increasing intrinsic motivation, (c) increasing the sense of personal choice and alternatives, and (d) achieving the state of optimal experience or flow. In theory, then, therapeutic recreation is provided to affect the total leisure behaviour (leisure lifestyle) of individuals with disabilities and/or illnesses through decreasing learned helplessness, and increasing personal control, intrinsic motivation, and personal choice. This outcome is accomplished through the specific provision of treatment, leisure education, and recreation participation services which teach specific skills, knowledges, and abilities, and take into consideration the matching of client skill and activity challenge. Another strength is the Models flexibility. One level of flexibility is with the three components of service. Each component of service is selected and programmed based on client need. That is, some clients will need treatment and leisure education services, without recreation participation. Other clients will need only leisure education and recreation participation services. Clearly, services are selected based on client need. In addition, programs conceptualized within each service component are selected based on client need. flexibility allow the specialist to custom design programs to fit the needs of every and any client group served by therapeutic recreation. The ultimate goal of leisure lifestyle remains the same for every client, but since it is based on the individual, how the lifestyle will be implemented by the individual and what it contains may differ. As such, the content of the Leisure Ability Model is not specific to any one population or client group, nor is it confined to any specific service or delivery setting. Some authors, including Kinney and Shank (1989), have reported this as a strength of the Model. According to the model, intervention may occur in a wide range of settings and addresses individuals with physical, mental, social, or emotional limitations (Peterson Gunn, p. 4). The intervention model is conceptually divided into three phases along a continuum of client functioning and restrictiveness. The three phases of therapeutic recreation intervention are arranged in a sequence, from greater therapist control to lesser therapist control, and from lesser client independence to greater client independence. This arrangement is purposeful and is meant to convey that the ultimate aim of the appropriate leisure lifestyle is that it be engaged in independently and freely. Summary The Health Protection/Health Promotion Model contains three major components (i.e., prescribed activities, recreation, and leisure) that range along an illness-wellness continuum. According to their needs, clients may enter anywhere along the continuum. The model emphasizes the active role of the client who becomes less and less reliant on the TR professional as he or she moves toward higher levels of health. Initially, direction and structure are provided through prescriptive activities to help activate the client. During recreation, the client and therapist join together in a mutual effort to restore normal functioning. During leisure, the client assumes primary responsibility for his or her own health and well-being. Evaluation of both models and there use in therapeutic recreation services: The overall intended outcome of therapeutic recreation services, as defined by the Leisure Ability Model, is a satisfying, independent, and freely chosen leisure lifestyle. In order to facilitate these perceptions, therapeutic recreation specialists must be able to design, implement, and evaluate a variety of activities that increase the persons individual competence and sense of control. In relation to leisure behaviour, Peterson (1989) felt that this includes improving functional abilities, improving leisure-related attitudes, skills, knowledge, and abilities, and voluntarily engaging in self-directed leisure behaviour. Thus, the three service areas of treatment, leisure education, and recreation participation are designed to teach specific skills to improve personal competence and a sense of accomplishment. Csikszentmihalyi (1990) summed up the importance of these perceptions: In the long run optimal experiences add up to a sense of mastery-or perhaps better, a sense of participation in determining the content of life-that comes as close to what is usually meant by happiness as anything else we can conceivably imagine (p. 4). The therapeutic recreation specialist must be able to adequately assess clients skill level (through client assessment) and activity requirements (through activity analysis) in order for the two to approximate one another. Given Decis (1975) theory of intrinsic motivation which includes the concept of incongruity, therapeutic recreation specialists may provide activities slightly above the skill level of clients in order to increase the sense of mastery. When this match between the activity requirements and client skill levels occurs, clients are most able to learn and experience a higher quality leisure. To facilitate this, therapeutic recreation specialists become responsible for comprehending and incorporating the: (a) theoretical bases (including but not limited to internal locus of control, intrinsic motivation, personal causation, freedom of choice, and flow); (b) typical client characteristics, including needs and deficits; (c) aspects of quality therapeutic recreation program delivery process (e.g., client assessment, activity analysis, outcome evaluation, etc.); and (d) therapeutic recreation content (treatment, leisure education, and recreation participation). These areas of understanding are important for the therapeutic recreation specialist to be able to design a series of coherent, organized programs that meet client needs and move the client further toward an independent and satisfactory leisure lifestyle. Again, the success of that lifestyle is dependent on the client gaining a sense of control and choice over leisure options, and having an orientation toward intrinsic motivation, an internal locus of control, and a personal sense of causality. The Leisure Ability Model provides specific content that can be addressed with clients in order to facilitate their development, maintenance, and expression of a successful leisure lifestyle. Each aspect of this content applies to the future success, independence, and well-being of clients in regard to their leisure. http://dw.com.com/redir?tag=rbxira.2.a.10destUrl=http://www.cnet.com/b.gif The client has reduced major functional limitations that prohibit or significantly limit leisure involvement (or at least has learned ways to overcome these barriers); understands and values the importance of leisure in the totality of life experiences; has adequate social skills for involvement with others; is able to choose between several leisure activity options on a daily basis, and make decisions for leisure participation; is able to locate and use leisure resources as necessary; and has increased perceptions of choice, motivation, freedom, responsibility, causality, and independence with regard to his or her leisure. These outcomes are targeted through the identification of client needs, the provision of programs to meet those needs, and the evaluation of outcomes during and after program delivery. A therapeutic recreation specialist designs, implements, and evaluates services aimed at these outcomes Austin (1989) objected to the Leisure Ability Model on the basis that is supporting a leisure behaviour orientation, instead of the therapy orientation. A number of authors have objected to the Leisure Ability Model, having observed that its all-encompassing approach is too broad and lacks the focus needed to direct a profession (Austin, p. 147). Austin advocated an alignment of therapeutic recreation with allied health and medical science disciplines, rather than leisure and recreation professionals The Model in Practice The Health Protection/Health Promotion Model may be applied in any setting (i.e., clinical or community) in which the goal of therapeutic recreation is holistic health and well-being. Thus, anyone who wishes to improve his or her level of health can become a TR client. TR professionals view all clients as having abilities and intact strengths, as well as possessing intrinsic worth and the potential for change. Through purposeful intervention using the TR process (i.e., assessment, planning, implementation, evaluation), therapeutic outcomes emphasize enhanced client functioning. Typical therapeutic outcomes include increasing personal awareness, improving social skills, enhancing leisure abilities, decreasing stress, improving physical functioning, and developing feelings of positive self-regard, self-efficacy and perceived control (Austin, 1996).

American Culture vs Lebanese Culture Essay

History and Geography are the most important factors that shape a given society’s culture; In Lebanon, religions are of great influence on the adopted values and assumptions; some will be discussed in the following to make the point about how history and geography have interfered to shape the Lebanese society as such, and then a comparison with the American values and their historical backgrounds will follow; -Family: being at the heart of the Arab world, where Christianity and Islam were born and spread later to the entire world, Lebanese people practice their religious believes in their different aspects, including those related to the family bounds and relations. Lebanese families have strong tights: the Respect to the Older, the extended kinship networks, the dependence of the Weak on the Strong (when youngsters depend on their parents until they become able to take responsibility of themselves, and then the dependence of the parents on their sons –and girls- when they become old and in need for their assistance); all these are the â€Å"normal† Lebanese expectations and values regarding the family. – History: Lebanese people give big importance to their history and they keep it in mind to learn from the mistakes of the past that cost them hundreds of thousands of souls; in Lebanon the term â€Å"we paid blood for this cause† is widely used. The Lebanese flag has two red bands at its top and bottom sides, to symbolize for the blood that has been shed for the sake of the country and all those martyrs who sacrificed their lives throughout the history. Lebanese history is very rich and full of invasions and struggles to freedom time after time, and this has left pride in Lebanese people of their past and determination to continue the same path in moralities and values regarding the country and their freedom. – Food: Conservation of Food that the Lebanese used to prepare each summer for the winter (called Mooneh), has its origins both from the cold winters where no food would be available, and from the famous WWI’s famine that stroke Lebanon, where only rich people and some farmers were able to survive since  they had some food stored in their warehouses. In addition, meat has to be Halal; that is the animal has to be slaughtered according to the Islamic way, even for Lebanese Christians who consider Halal meat healthier and more hygienic. In the Islamic regions of Lebanon, it’s not acceptable to request alcohol or to drink or be drunk when visiting a Muslim, as alcohol is forbidden in Islam. As it is offensive to request for food or to eat, drink or smoke in public during the day in Ramadan, where Muslims will be fasting by that time. While in the American context, history has also shaped the values of the American people, but obviously in different direction as the historical events and circumstances was far different from those experienced in Lebanon. Taking the above tackled examples, in the following is an analysis of these in the American context as compared to the Lebanese one. – Family: the social tissue of the American society is made up of immigrants from different parts of the world, and according to their origin, families have different values and social practices. Accordingly, families living in Michigan are similar in their family bounds and values to the Lebanese, as there is a big Lebanese Diaspora living in this state. While in other regions where most of the immigrants originate from North-Western Europe, families don’t have as strong bounds as the oriental people, and young adults’ dependence on their parents is considered as a shame and regarded to as immaturity. – History: in spite of the short history of the United States as compared to other countries – here to Lebanon- history has had great deal with shaping the American culture and its people’s values, and Americans as the Lebanese are proud of their history and show great respect for those who contributed to the nowadays constitutional laws and values. For instance, the famous war between the North and the South had its important footprints on the American values regarding the racial discrimination and the respect to the individual regardless his color or race. On the other hand, the interventions of President Roosevelt during the Great Economical Depression in order to create job opportunities and boost the economy, is being nowadays highly  appreciated and appraised by the Americans. – Food: the American culinary culture seems to have no relation with that found in the Lebanese food. Americans depend mostly on â€Å"Fast Food†, with little time needed to prepare; this might have its origins the shortage in time when women and men had both to work during the industrial revolution at the beginning of the 20th century. In addition, no religious restrictions regarding the meat or alcohol, but rather a respect to some nutritional preferences like vegetarian and vegan food for some. Although each society has its own peculiarities, values and cultural distinction, globalization is now invading most societies in the world and shaping them into a new, more homogeneous society having pretty much the same Global Culture; the nature of that culture will be that of the most powerful societies’ who invade the weak ones culturally and prevail over them; only the strongest values will persist and this is another form of struggle. The most aspect of the American values I’ve adopted is independence as a woman coming from a Lebanese family. Although I was born and raised here, technically I am American; my family likes to think otherwise. My family is into the Lebanese culture very much. My father came to America when he was really young, maybe in his early 20s. He would visit Lebanon just about every summer and in 1983 he married my mother who was his neighbor. Soon after that my parents had my older brother, than my twin brother and I. My mother came to this country at the age of 22 (I think) and she started to bring over my uncles and grandmother. So, basically all of my family was here on my mother’s side except two of her sisters and one brother. We are very family oriented and I was the only girl so everyone was basically looking after me because they thought if I was to take the American way of things I would be wild and do whatever it is I wanted. That’s not how it works in the old country. The sister or daughter of the family is supposed to stay home, take care of the house, clean, cook, and cater to the father and/or brothers of her family. Since we lived in America and grew up here, I kind of had it the easy way, for a little while. I got away with almost everything. I was â€Å"daddy’s little girl,† whatever I wanted, I got. I think  it was because I was the only girl, for the most part. My father would get me any and everything I wanted. If my brothers were bothering me and I wanted to get them away from me, all I would do is scream â€Å"daddy, they’re hurting me† he would come running and they were the ones in trouble not me. Most of the time I would start the fight, so it was supposed to be my fault that we ended up fighting, but my father never knew that. He never wanted to see me cry or get hurt by my brothers who were rough and always play fighting. My biological father died when I was 7 years old of a heart attack and so my mother was left as a single parent taking care of two 7 year olds and a 12 year old. It was devastating, heart breaking; nothing has been the same since of course. My mom was extremely strict on us after the passing of my father, that was the only way she knew how to protect us from this â€Å"evil and cruel world† she would tell us. My mom had her mother and three brothers here; my father’s sister lived on the second floor of our house, so she wasn’t alone taking care of us. Of course mothers have their own way of taking care of their kids and she didn’t want anyone to change the way she was raising us or taking care of us. She made our lives very difficult at times because most of the kids we went to school with or lived around were always outside on the street playing but we weren’t allowed outside of the driveway because she always wanted her eye on us or someone always had to watch us. There was never a time where we were alone, especially me since I’m the girl of the family. My brothers had more privileges than I did be cause of course they were boys and I wasn’t. In 2001 that’s when things got a lot easier for my mother and us. She got remarried to a Lebanese man who was from the same city in Lebanon where we were from. She was happy and of course we were happy for her and as a family in general. A lot more freedom and independence came upon us. He is a very open-minded individual. He wasn’t living in America when my mother met him. He was visiting and ended up staying because him and my mom fell in love and got married. He sort of opened my mother’s mind up A LOT, for me. My brothers always had their freedom for the most part. My mom started letting me go to the park with my girlfriends, she let me go to birthday parties at friends houses. The option of sleeping over someone’s house was never there. I was very happy and thankful that God brought this man into our family. I  am very close to him; he is my step-father, of course. My father will never be replaced but a part of me always sits and thinks maybe my father brought this man into our lives; maybe he picked him out for my mom. He and my father are very similar people. When I was going into my junior year of high school my parents thought of this brilliant idea to move out of the city. It wasn’t so brilliant for us. We were living in Hyde Park. We left our childhood home, street, friends, parks, etc. It was a very sad thing to do. Our new home was in Attleboro, Ma. A very suburb area as oppose to Hyde Park. That’s where most of my independence and freedom took part. I’m thinking my mom was more lenient to letting me do things and go places because we were now living in the suburbs. I would go to my friend’s house, sometimes stay there until really late at night. When I turned 17 I learned how to drive, I got my permit and soon after my license. The most freedom a teenager has is when they’re able to drive themselves around and not depend on other people or their parents for a ride anywhere. My freedom and independence began here. It was the most wonderful time of my life. I would drive from Attleboro to Boston almost every other day. My mom knew where I would be going, to my best friend’s house in Boston or to visit my grandmother and uncles who still live in Hyde Park. The fact that my mother was letting me or allowing me to do all of these things defines where I have adopted the American â€Å"teenage† lifestyle in that point of my life. My religion is very important to my family and to me as well. I grew up in the Orthodox Christian church. I will always have this value from my native culture. I don’t think I’ll ever forget my religion or where my beliefs come from. I went to church every Sunday every since I was a little girl. As for now, I don’t go to church so much anymore. I live a busy life, like most Americans and especially Bostonians. I always have time for religion, there’s nothing wrong with prayer at home or wherever you are. My brothers and I went to a church camp out in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania called Antiochian Village. The mission of the Antiochian Village is to present to young people a living experience of the Holy Orthodox Faith, in their relationship with God and other campers in an uncluttered, natural environment. We were there for two weeks every summer. It was probably the best two weeks out of the whole year. I started going there when I was 12 years old until I was 17. I learned a lot about my religion, met life-long friends who I call family  now, and learned how to live without electronics attached to me every second of the day. It was a big challenge for me because I was so used to watching TV every day and using the phone to talk to friends, and playing video games. Our trips to the Village have taught self-awareness. I t’s a big aspect of my life. I think to accomplish the mission of the Village was to bring young people: * Awareness of self and fellow man * A broadening of their Orthodox life * A greater awareness of their religion * Good sportsmanship * Growth in personal relationships and personal responsibility * An appreciation of nature and a concern for the environment In Lebanon I see that religion is very powerful. When I go there for the summer there are always feasts and Saints days. There are huge celebrations for these feasts and Saints days. The whole town/city/village is a part of these celebrations. The churches are decorated with lights and candles and flowers. It’s beautiful. When I see these churches decorated like this, it makes me realize that there is a God. Without God there would be nothing. I wear jewelry to represent that I am religious; like a cross on my neck or sometimes prayer beads around my wrist. I make it very clear to people that I’m a big part of Christianity. Lebanese people can tell right away what religion you are. There are different crosses for the Catholic and Orthodox Christians. The Orthodox cross has a slightly different look than the Catholic one. For me — melting pot/salad bowl — it’s about a country of immigrants becoming stronger by both embracing the diversity of its cultures but also all feeling they do belong to one nation as well. I’m more of a melting pot. I’m more ethnic but have been combined with the American culture. I live my life more of the American lifestyle in some ways more than others apposes to the Lebanese lifestyle. I’m big into the equality of opportunity whereas in Lebanon the man is in charge of the household, most women are stay at home wives who take care of the household, cooking and cleaning. I’m more independent that the cousins I have in Lebanon. The only women in my family who work are the ones who have gone to University and have found good jobs  that are actually worth it. In America even if one doesn’t have a college degree there is a high possibility that they can be successful. It could be from knowing someone in a certain type of job or business where they can receive better privileges and get promoted easily with higher paying jobs and not even having to step foot in a college level course. Those are the perks of living in America and having opportunity. In Lebanon there are not many options. Middle class or very wealthy families put their children in college or universities. Some of the people in my family were very fortunate to go to college because their parents had to give up their dreams or sell a piece of land that was handed down to them from their fathers or grandfathers in order to pay for their college tuitions. As I said before independence is my number one turnover from the Lebanese culture to the American culture. Only the bravest women in my culture stand up to their families or husbands and choose to be independent. I have that opportunity without a doubt or without anyone having to tell me â€Å"No.† Of course I still have my values that come from my culture. These values are what make me who I am and best represent me as independent. In Lebanon the people are always giving a helping hand, Americans are the same way. I take that value very much inconsideration because I always try to help the less fortunate. I have so much to be thankful and grateful by the help of my parents and God that I try and give out a helping hand even if it’s a dollar. There are millions of charities to help the less fortunate in Lebanon and there are a million charities that I have contributed my money, clothes, shoes, jackets, etc. to. It gives me great pleasure to do so, it’s very frowned upon if you know someone who is less fortunate and doesn’t help them out with whatever it is possible that you can give in Lebanon and I’m sure in America as well. Some Americans are greedy or cheap and don’t like to give their belongings or money away to homeless or less fortunate people but for the most part I see a very large amount of contributors to these people. Happiness is a great value that I’ve inherited from both cultures; Lebanese and American. My mother always tells me â€Å"it is better to be poor and happy than to be wealthy and unhappy,† meaning no matter how big or deep your  pocket it is, it will not give you happiness. I always surround myself with the things that make me the most happy. It is of course my family, my best friends, etc. When I finish school, I plan on opening my own business it may or may not be successful either way that is my goal. It is what’s going to make me happy. Whether I become very wealthy or very poor that is what will make me the most happiest. The thought of my goal and dream to be my own boss will give me great pleasure in saying to someone â€Å"I am my own boss,† finally. I hope to be as successful as some of the people in my family are. Some own their own business, some have very high paying jobs at very well known corporations/businesses. Even if I become a manager at a business or corporation it will still make me very happy to say that I’ve accomplished my dreams in becoming â€Å"wealthy,† because that is how I define wealthy; rising from the very bottom to the very top in my life. I want to show my parents that I have accomplished my dreams because I have more opportunities than my mother and father did from when they first arrived in this country. It will make me happy just seeing my mother happy. It’s a great thing to be, happy. Lebanese people are happy whether they are very poor, middle-class, an d wealthy sometimes. Americans don’t see the economic status the same as us Lebanese, but I have seen a number of people say the same who are Americans. Having good health is the number one priority in a Lebanese family. My mother also has always said â€Å"without health you have nothing.† If my father wasn’t healthy he may be still alive. I know my father’s side of the family has a history of heart disease and he was also under a lot of stress at the time. But he wasn’t healthy at all. If a person isn’t healthy, there would be no way a person can go to school to get an education, go to work to earn their money, not even get up out of their beds. Health is a big issue in Lebanon and in America. Obesity is growing and growing in America every day. I’m concerned for myself and family. But with the help of God and us there is no way being unhealthy is an option in my book. In conclusion, independence, a helping hand, and health have best described my melting pot and shape me to be the person I am today. There is no better way to explaining myself in any other way than I already have. Thank you.

Benefits of Tricare

With so many different types of healthcare coverages out there it’s not an easy process going about finding the best coverage for those of military service and their family. One of the most important benefits of military service is Health Care. TRICARE is a healthcare program by the Department of Defense that provides health care coverage for medical services, medications, and dental care for military families and retirees and their and survivors.â€Å"The United States Department of defense operates a substantial program to provide medical services to active duty and retired members of the armed forces, their dependents, and their survivors through the Military Health Services System (MHSS)† (Shi & Singh, 2012). â€Å"The MHSS is equipped to provide medical care worldwide† (Shi & Singh, 2012). â€Å"It operates 59 hospitals and 364 clinics to serve an eligible population of 9. 6 million at a annual budget of $50 billion, according to the Department of Defenseâ €  (Shi & Singh, 2012).Since healthcare is so important TRICARE brings together the health care resources of the Army, Navy and Air Force and supplements them with networks of civilian health care professionals to provide better access and high quality service while maintaining the capability to support military operations. Active Duty and Guard and Reserve service members are automatically enrolled in TRICARE Prime. However military dependents and retirees must choose the TRICARE option that best suits their needs.One of the most important benefits of TRICARE is guaranteed insurance at a low premium. More benefits associated with TRICARE includes a broad choice of care providers, no enrollment fee, wide availability and the option of using the TRICARE Extra program, which allows the insured to select any physician, in or out of network. TRICARE also offers the services of military health care and provides supplemental services from civilian health care networks and pharmacies.As a response to the challenge of maintaining medical combat readiness and due to the increasing number retirees while providing the best health care for all eligible personnel, the Department of Defense introduced TRICARE. TRICARE is a regionally managed health care program that brings together the health care resources of the Army, Navy, and Air Force and supplements them with networks of civilian health care professionals to provide better access and high quality service while maintaining the capability to support military operations. TRICARE offers soldiers and their families’ affordable health care when they need it the most.Three main coverages of TRICARE which are TRICARE Prime, TRICARE Extra, and TRICARE Standard and the many different services covered by TRICARE. In conclusion the main challenge for most eligible beneficiaries is deciding which TRICARE option; Prime, Extra or Standard is best for them. Active duty soldiers are enrolled in TRICARE Prime and pay no fees while active duty family members pay no enrollment fees, but they must choose a TRICARE option and apply for enrollment in TRICARE Prime. There are no enrollment fees for active duty families in TRICARE Prime.

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