The context and its influence upon the therapist-client relationship from the systemic family perspective

Ever since the couple establishes, continuing with the family triangle and reaching to leaving children, each stage involves a process of differentiation that is specific for the context when it occurs. New theories of the family development stages say they are influenced by several factors, such as cultural, religious, social background or educational level, etc. To Bowen's concept of self-differentiation - a concept characterizing people by the degree of fusion and individuation between emotional and intellectual functioning - we would add the important part played by implicit and also assumed roles undertaken throughout life, specifically throughout family developmental stages. Frequently, others' opinion do not allow us to feel what we really feel, cultural aspects, individualism/collectivism being sometimes the things that imprint us most. Individualism is specific to cultures which encourage a person to be primarily motivated by personal goals and preferences, being associated with relations of equality and flexible roles, as well as private property. At the opposite, collectivism characterizes cultures that encourage an individual to see himself part of a social group, an expression of the need for affiliation or relationship. Collectivism promotes adherence to rules, respect for authority, for the elderly, conformity, it is associated with stable ranked roles, and also encourages collective ownership. Other notable aspects for their contribution to the process of differentiation and to assuming roles during family development stages are: how people develop relationships, the

level of trust given to others, temporal orientation, size and perception of psychological time (cognitive, behavioral and emotional aspects), business orientation and work significance etc. The workshop aims at creating a multicultural context in which participants are encouraged to use dialogue through direct interaction, experiential exercises and discussion or personal reflection. The goal is highlighting the way all aspects mentioned above affect the therapist - client relationship in different cultures and finding "revolutionary" ways of

intervention through systemic family therapy.