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Effectiveness in Cross-Cultural Counseling and Psychotherapy: A Framework
Effectiveness in Cross-Cultural Counseling and Psychotherapy: A Framework
85/Number 2 S
FARAH A. IBRAHIM
The University of Connecticut
This article considers some perspectives to a good starting point would be an understanding
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
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Farah A. Ibrahim
utility for assisting the counselor and psycho- culture involves the relationship between two va-
therapist in understanding themselves and their rieties of human experience. Wagner (1981) stresses
clients from different cultural backgrounds. that the idea of a "relationship" is important be-
The client's experience is the most important cause it is appropriate to the bringing together of
source of information determining how an indi- two equivalent yet disparate entities than notions
vidual's cognitive activities such as valuing and of "examination" or "analysis." He recommends
judging and emotional (affective) factors interact that the only way a person can go about creating
with the conditions of one's life to form internal a relationship between cultures is by simultaneously
experiences. The focus must be on the client; it knowing both of them, to realize the relative char-
is essential to find out how each individual rep- acter of one's own culture through the concrete
resents the world before taking action to produce formulation of another culture.
change. Such a helper stance is meaningful in all
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
cross-cultural counseling. The role of the psy- In cross-cultural psychotherapy the concepts of
chotherapist is to assist the client in integrating "cultural relativity" and "relative objectivity"
aspects of his or her world view to maximize prove to be helpful. If counselors and psycho-
effectiveness and psychological well-being (Sue therapists insist on analyzing and examining clients,
& Sue, 1977). Effectiveness in cross-cultural they are persisting in setting up barriers by creating
counseling is determined by how well the helper an unequal situation. Counseling (learning) re-
understands and accepts the world view of the lationships would be greatly enhanced if each
client. counselor (facilitator) considered the client as a
cultural equal and set about establishing a rela-
Cultural Awareness in Counseling and tionship between equivalent beings.
Psychotherapy Practicing cultural relativity and relative ob-
Kroeber & Kluckhohn (1952) define culture as jectivity frees the individual from the rational
"patterns, explicit and implicit, of and for behavior classical objective approach. Absolute objectivity
acquired and transmitted by symbols, constituting implies that individuals should have no biases and
the distinctive achievement of human groups, in- hence no culture at all. A major assumption for
cluding their embodiments in artifacts, the essential culturally effective counseling and psychotherapy
core of culture consists of traditional (i.e., his- involves an understanding of our own basic tend-
torically derived and selected) ideas and especially encies, the ways in which we comprehend other
attached values, culture systems may on the other cultures and the limits it places on our compre-
hand, be considered as products of action, on the hension. It is essential to understand our own
other as conditioning elements of further action" cultural heritage and world view before we set
(p. 81). According to Linton (1945) culture is about understanding and assisting other people.
"the configuration of learned behavior and results
of behavior whose components and elements are Reference Note
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of the American Association for Marriage and Family
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cific manifestation or example of the human con-
dition. Because no infallible method has been References
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Cross-Cultural Counseling
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This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
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