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doi: 10.1111/1467-6427.12009pmid: N/A
Working with a family from a cultural background other than one's own is considered to be challenging for the therapist. Influenced by social constructionism, the family therapy field highlights the importance of contingency and cultural differences and therapists are encouraged to develop their cultural competency in order to deal with these differences. In this article, starting from contemporary critiques of notions of Western societies' cultural diversity, we address the way in which the cultural competency framework, by highlighting the importance of cultural differences and the therapist's culture‐specific knowledge, may underestimate the importance of the social dimensions of the issues involved. Furthermore, highlighting cultural differences may obscure the shared humanity present in a transcultural encounter. In this article, as an alternative to the cultural competency framework, we propose a view of intercultural family therapy in which the unresolvable dialectical tension between differences and universalities is central. Practitioner points The article addresses the challenge of working with families from diverse cultural backgrounds. The traditional framework of cultural competence is critically reviewed. Family therapists should not only be open for cultural differences, but also for universalities and especially for the never‐ending tension between differences and universalities.
Roizblatt, Arturo; Biederman, Niels; Brown, Jac
doi: 10.1111/j.1467-6427.2011.00555.xpmid: N/A
Chile entered a period of political turmoil when Dr Salvador Allende, a socialist, won the 1970 presidential election. After he was overthrown, Chile was governed by a military dictatorship that engaged in massive human rights violations. Some 30 years later, this article summarizes the psychological consequences of the traumas that victims experienced and the emotions triggered in these individuals and their families, as well as the very real difficulties they faced. This report focuses on the loss and grief that many families experienced after a family member was imprisoned and tortured or assassinated, or both. Systemic therapeutic implications of the difficulties these families faced are proposed.
Wallis, Jennifer; Singh, Reenee
doi: 10.1111/j.1467-6427.2012.00602.xpmid: N/A
Systemic therapists have argued that it is important to re‐examine issues about white identities if they are to develop cultural competence and cultural sensitivity. Despite this, few studies have explored whiteness in systemic psychotherapy. This small‐scale qualitative study therefore explores how a group of white systemic psychotherapists (trainers and trainees) construct whiteness, how these constructions or discourses facilitate or constrain talk about whiteness and how this influences what therapists do in therapy. The research method used was focus group discussions and an action research approach. The data were analysed using Foucauldian discourse analysis and three main discourses were made apparent: ‘whiteness as an invisible norm’, ‘political correctness’ and ‘systemic therapy discourses’. These discourses are described and the implications, discussed.
Liu, Liang; Zhao, Xudong; Miller, John K.
doi: 10.1111/j.1467-6427.2012.00582.xpmid: N/A
The use of metaphors in family therapy has been extensively written about in western literature, yet very few studies on this subject have been conducted in China. The goal of this study was to summarize the metaphors used by Chinese family therapists. Transcriptions from 36 hours of video‐recorded family and couple therapy sessions from eighteen Chinese family patients were qualitatively analysed to identify categories of therapist‐produced metaphors that are applicable to the Chinese context. Two major categories emerged: verbal and non‐verbal metaphors. Verbal metaphors included four subgroups: story, object comparison, sayings and age. Nonverbal metaphors involved two subgroups: gesture and spatialization. The influence of the Chinese culture on the use of metaphor is discussed. This study adds to the greater understanding of how to integrate metaphors in therapy in the Chinese context.
doi: 10.1111/1467-6427.12026pmid: N/A
Promoting supervisees' self‐reflexivity is an integral component of systemic family therapy supervision. This includes facilitating thinking about the influences of social differences. The article describes an exercise designed to facilitate exploration of participants' relationships with different aspects of social GGRRAAACCEEESSS (SG). The exercise consists of mapping the influences of different aspects of SG and ascertaining how some of them come to be more privileged than others. It is proposed that the exercise is used in the context of a supervision group, where the supervisees and supervisor share their personal and family of origin stories related to SG. Team members' reflection offers a further opportunity for learning. Feedback from supervisees has been sought on how this exercise impacted on their practice. The potential benefits and caveats are discussed. Practitioner points Promote self‐reflexivity on issues of differences Explore supervisees' relationships with aspects of social GGRRAAACCEEESSS
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