The therapeutic relationship is increasingly becoming a central topic in systemic psychotherapy and cross-cultural thinking. Here, experienced systemic psychotherapists offer their reflections and thoughts on the issues of race, culture, and ethnicity in the therapeutic relationship. The aim is to develop this area of systemic practice, to place culture squarely at the centre of all systemic psychotherapy practice as a model for all psychotherapy practice, to encourage both trainees and experienced systemic psychotherapists to pay attention to race, culture, and ethnicity as central issues in their own and their clients’ identities, and to inform researchers who use qualitative research techniques such as ethnography. This book moves the issues of culture, race and equity into the centre of psychotherapeutic practice, including that which involves therapeutic encounters across culture, racial and ethnic divides. It develops an approach to cultural transference and demonstrates that thinking about culture, race and ethnicity does not belong at the margin. Reviews: ‘This book makes a crucial contribution by locating culture and race at the centre of all theory and practice in systemic psychotherapy. In doing so, it corrects the longstanding error of circumscribing culture and race to the attributes of minorities. Instead, it urges systemic practitioners to reflect about their own cultural and political stances in all their interactions with clients. Thoughtfully articulated contributions open rich new perspectives about the uses of reflexivity. Each chapter offers fascinating explorations of the topic along with considered explanations aimed at including culture and politics in the therapeutic and supervisory encounter. After reading this important book, it is impossible to continue to look at culture and race as belonging to clients only and to limit therapeutic inquiries to the culture and race of “others”.’
- Celia Jaes Falicov, PhD, Clinical Professor of Family and Preventive Medicine and Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, USA About the Author: Inga-Britt Krause, PhD, is a social and medical anthropologist. As a systemic psychotherapist she has worked for nearly twenty years in the NHS and has helped set up Specialist Services for Asian Communities in London. She is currently Training & Development Consultant in the Tavistock & Portman NHS Foundation Trust. |
