Intercultural therapy

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Intercultural therapy is a form of psychotherapy aimed at benefiting culturally diverse groups. It recognises the importance of race, culture, beliefs, values, attitudes, religion and language in the life of the client. [1] The concept has been developed by Jafar Kareem in his book Intercultural Therapy. [1] Kareem (1992) believed that there are some intrinsic differences between individual human beings, either in their biology, their personality or both, and that both inter- and intrapsychic events profoundly affect an individual's psyche and develop as part of their unconscious life. [1] The events of the external world, then, are real but they are also internalised.

Intercultural therapy responds to the cultural variances identified by the field of anthropology. [2] An intercultural therapist must take the external realities of a client's life into account, such as poverty, refugee status, racism, sexism, physical health and physical abilities. Kareem believed that failure to understand cultural issues may lead to major diagnostic and therapeutic errors. [1]

Intercultural therapy recognises the differences and similarities of various aspects of culture for both the client and therapist, and that the very fact of being from another culture involves both conscious and unconscious assumptions, both in the patient and in the therapist. These unconscious assumptions sometimes mean traditional modes of therapy do not address the needs of someone from outside a dominant culture, or that therapy is not offered to them in the first place. [3]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Occupational therapy</span> Healthcare profession

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cultural competence in healthcare</span> Health care services that are sensitive and responsive to the needs of diverse cultures

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kawa model</span> Conceptual model in occupational therapy

The Kawa model, named after the Japanese word for river, is a culturally responsive conceptual framework used in occupational therapy to understand and guide the therapeutic process. Developed by Japanese occupational therapists (OTs), the model draws upon the metaphor of a river to describe human occupation, which according to OTs refers to individuals' daily activities that make life meaningful. The overarching goal of the model is to "provide a culturally flexible model to aid occupational therapists to improve communication with clients, to better understand what a client finds meaningful and important, and to design optimal client-centered interventions."

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Kareem, Jafar (1999). Intercultural Therapy: Themes, Interpretations and Practice. London: Blackwell Science Ltd. ISBN   978-0632052240.
  2. Zanatta, Francesca (2008). "Intercultural therapy and ethnopsychoanalysis: Are they both 'possession'?" (PDF). Opticon 1826 (4). doi: 10.5334/opt.040810 .[ permanent dead link ]
  3. Troche, Ursula (2008). "Intercultural therapy" (PDF). The Independent Practitioner. Summer: 2. Retrieved 3 June 2016.[ dead link ]