Group Counseling and Psychotherapy Across the Cultural Divide

Effective counseling across a cultural divide depends on adaptations or changes of technique to suit the particular intercultural circumstances. The concept of mutual creative space provides a guiding principle for therapists who wish to make such changes. This space is 'negotiated' between the therapist/counselor coming from the 'dominant/mainstream' group within society, and the group participants who arrive from another culture. Mutual creative space consists of the negotiation of power and a process of mutual invention, incorporating the creation, by therapist and participants, of something new that did not exist in either of their cultures of origin. A meaningful encounter and effective group counseling can take place following the negotiation of such a creative space. This is illustrated by the example of intercultural group work with Ethiopian Jewish immigrants in Israel, including an analysis of cultural characteristics of the Ethiopian group and specific ways of negotiating mutual creative space in this case. Issues discussed include: establishing trust in the cross cultural context; the use of body language and its interpretation; the psychologist as an authority figure; active participation vs. hidden learning; and working with dreams in such groups

Archaeology · Ethnic group · Immigration · Judaism · Psychotherapist · Sociology · Anthropology · Clinical Psychology · Counseling Practices and Supervision · History · Medicine · Migration, Health and Trauma · Psychology · Racial and Ethnic Identity Research

• Cultural Aspects of Health care for Ethiopian Jewish Immigrants in Israel

  Open Access•Yulia Treister-Goltzman, Roni Peleg•Journal of Religion and Health•2024

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• Is It Enough to 'Speak Haredi'? Cultural Sensitivity in Social Workers Encountering Jewish Ultra-Orthodox Clients in Israel

  Tova Band‐Winterstein, T Band-Winterstein et al.•The British Journal of Social Work•2015

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• From Winnicott's potential space to mutual creative space

  Open Access•Gadi Benezer•Transcultural Psychiatry•2012

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• From Categories to Contexts

  Open Access•Roland Littlewood•The British Journal of Psychiatry•1990

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• Multiculturalism as a Generic Approach to Counseling

  Open Access•Paul Pedersen, Paul B Pedersen•Journal of Counseling & Development•1991

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• Counseling Across Cultures

  Courtland C Lee, Elina Zalkalne•Introduction to the Counseling…•2017

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• The Ethiopian Jewish Exodus

  Gadi Benezer•Ethiopian Jewish Exodus•2003

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• The effect of cultural conceptions on therapy

  Open Access•S D Minuchin-Itzigsohn, S Minuchin-Itzigsohn et al.•Culture Medicine and Psychiatry•1984

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• Position Paper

  Open Access•Derald Wing Sue, Joseph E Bernier et al.•The Counseling Psychologist•1982

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• Between Sacred and Medical Realities

  Open Access•Yoram Bilu, Eliezer Witztum•Science in Context•1995

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• From post-traumatic stress disorder to cultural bereavement

  Open Access•Maurice Eisenbruch•Social Science & Medicine•1991

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• Culture and Psychotherapy in a Creolizing World

  Open Access•L J Kirmayer•Transcultural Psychiatry•2006

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• Working with Jewish ultra-orthodox patients

  Open Access•Yoram Bilu, Eliezer Witztum•Culture Medicine and Psychiatry•1993

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