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Cultural Issues in Therapy: On the Fringe
Author(s) -
Ramondo Nick
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of family therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.297
H-Index - 19
eISSN - 1467-8438
pISSN - 0814-723X
DOI - 10.1002/j.1467-8438.1991.tb00845.x
Subject(s) - oppression , perspective (graphical) , mainstream , vignette , family therapy , status quo , sociology , relevance (law) , government (linguistics) , cultural diversity , epistemology , psychology , social psychology , political science , psychotherapist , politics , anthropology , law , linguistics , philosophy , artificial intelligence , computer science
This paper argues that issues of culture have occupied a fringe position in the thinking and practice of most Australian family therapists. Starting with a definition of culture as epistemology, it examines factors pertaining to government policy, demography and the experience of migration to argue the relevance of a cultural perspective in mainstream family therapy discourse. The paper then looks at two central consequences for family therapy and training — cultural oppression and maintaining the status quo — if a cultural perspective continues to be neglected. It then proposes ways that therapists can introduce a cultural perspective in their thinking and clinical work. The paper concludes with a case vignette which illustrates some of the ideas .