Conceptualizing cultural and gendered identities in psychological therapies

Bibliographic Data

ID5844630
AuthorsE Burman (0000-0002-2504-5120, Manchester Metropolitan University), Jaya Gowrisunkur (Manchester Metropolitan University), Kuljeet Sangha (Manchester Metropolitan University)
Year1998
Volume1
Issue2
Pages231-255
Publication date1998-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueEuropean Journal of Psychotherapy & Counselling (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1364-2537 • E-ISSN: 1469-5901
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13642539808402311
OpenAlexW2019464601
LanguageEN
Citations received16
References cited51

This paper addresses implications for psychological therapies and practices of recognizing the varieties of ways 'race' and gender intersect and impact on therapeutic relationships. We illustrate how 'race' and gender have either eluded analysis or been treated in oversimplified ways that disallow their interchange and varieties of forms, and impoverish the recognition and process of therapeutic change. Debates about 'race' and gender in psychotherapy are situated within more general discussions about theorizing whiteness as a normalized cultural absence. This is used to inform how ethnic minorities in Britain, and specifically minority women, have been represented in (and omitted from) the psychiatric and psychotherapeutic literature. Common claims about cultural specificity (or its converse, universality) in psychological therapies, the grounds on which they are offered and their discursive consequences are evaluated. The case is made for therapy as an inevitably intercultural enterprise, while also cautioning against some prevalent misconceptions of intercultural approaches. The final substantive section develops the conceptual arguments proposed in relation to debates about culturally relevant and appropriate models in psychological therapies, including a critical commentary on the uses of gender, cultural and racial 'matching'. Finally, implications for the training and practices of mental health professionals are discussed

Converse · Critical Race Theory in Education · Gender Roles and Identity Studies · Racial and Ethnic Identity Research