Psychotherapy as it is commonly practiced in the West was initially developed in the context of Western philosophical, scientific, and religious traditions and values. Because it has these roots, psychotherapy has been deeply connected with individualism.

A challenge for Western psychotherapists working cross-culturally has been that individualism is not a universal value. Working with clients from non-individualistic cultures may require questioning the individualistic premises on which the Western psychotherapeutic tradition is based.

Individualism is a complex worldview. It began to emerge in the form that we recognize today in the 17th century, in the thought of philosopher John Locke, serving partly as a reaction to rule by monarchs with absolute authority. It became appropriate to question this authority, and in doing so to elevate the value of individual freedom and liberty to unprecedented levels. Subsequent Western thought continued to evolve, but retained individualistic premises. For example, existentialist thinkers – who have directly influenced humanistic traditions in psychotherapy – found new ways to prioritize individual freedom. This included the freedom to live life creatively and in ways that suit one’s individual nature, whether or not doing so fit traditional or pre-established ways of living.

The Western psychotherapeutic tradition is deeply indebted to individualistic tendencies in Western thought. It is not uncommon, for instance, for psychotherapists in the West to think of their work as helping clients to achieve individual “self-actualization,” even if this means that clients will be living in ways that are in conflict with community or family values.

Continue reading →

It is now widely considered to be an old-fashioned view that therapy somehow transcends culture, and that we can practice effectively as therapists if we put aside the cultural experiences of therapist and client.

To meet the demands of this contemporary view of therapy, it is essential for therapists to cultivate cross-cultural therapy skills, cultural sensitivity, and socio-political awareness. This is true whether we identify with a dominant culture or a minority culture.

One reason to cultivate a multicultural orientation is that we risk causing harm – especially to those belonging to minority cultures – if we do not practice in ways that are culturally sensitive. We may unwittingly cause clients to feel in therapy the same sense of exclusion and alienation that they feel elsewhere in their lives.

Another reason to cultivate a multicultural orientation is that doing so appears to increase the potential to help the vast majority of clients. Research by Owen et al. (the results of which were published in their 2011 Psychotherapy article, “Clients’ perceptions of their psychotherapists’ multicultural orientation”) suggests that clients’ psychological well-being benefits to the extent that they perceive their therapist as having a multi-cultural orientation.

Continue reading →