Hidden Points of View in Cross-cultural Psychotherapy and Ethnography

Bibliographic Data

ID2394574
AuthorsInga‐britt Krause (0000-0002-4086-4837, The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, corresponding author), Inga-Britt Krause (The Tavistock Clinic)
Year2006
Volume43
Issue2
Pages181-203
Publication date2006-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueTranscultural Psychiatry (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1363-4615 • E-ISSN: 1461-7471
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/1363461506064848
PMID16893871
OpenAlexW2037526924
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited43

This article examines the challenges posed by cross-cultural psychotherapy in a creolized world, and the way this intersects with issues faced by the ethnographer. It proposes 'the relational subject,' implicit in systemic psychotherapy and social anthropology, as a framework for an understanding of communication. In cross-cultural psychotherapy, this assumption is central to non-discriminatory and equitable treatment. Drawing on Bateson's ethnographic work, the article connects 'the relational subject' to what Bateson, following Whitehead, called 'the fallacy of misplaced concreteness' and later referred to as 'context.' The article examines the choices of 'context' first in ethnography and systemic psychotherapy and then in Bateson's own analysis of the Naven ritual. It is suggested that cross-cultural psychotherapy is psychotherapy in which the therapist keeps in mind, both her own and her client's contexts. This means an assessment of process (performative aspects) as well as content (semiotic aspects) and attention to 'moments' rather than longer sequences in the therapy

Cross-cultural · Counseling, Therapy, and Family Dynamics · Educational and Psychological Assessments · Social Representations and Identity

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