Impact of Psychotherapies on Clients

Multi-Cultural Theories of Psychotherapy

A majority of therapeutic approaches realize that clients' individual differences should be appreciated and recognized. But major psychotherapy theories, which have originated from Western society, are inclined to be built in a perspective that is mono-cultural. They foster conventional cultural values, while ignoring multicultural philosophies of life. Unfortunately, this mono-cultural approach to psychotherapy often fosters ethnocentrism, an idea that one's culture is intrinsically desirable and better than that of others. Those who espouse multicultural psychotherapies encourage cultural sensitivity, are aware of, respect, and understand cultural diversity. Appreciating diversity fosters a critical analysis of conventional psychotherapeutic norms and practices, as definitions of disease, health, treatment, abnormality, and normality are culturally rooted. Therefore, multicultural psychotherapies study worldviews of both clients and themselves. 'Worldview' denotes individuals' traumatized beliefs and ideas regarding the world. The use of multicultural psychotherapies in self-analysis leads to assessment of potential bias and professional socialization. Therapists can also scrutinize their interventions' cultural applicability and support culturally appropriate therapeutic programs (Author, 2014).

Leading mono-cultural psychotherapies are likely decontextualized, apolitical, and ahistorical. When they are not considering the sociopolitical and historical contexts, conventional psychotherapies overlook the part privilege and power play in the lives of people. On the other hand, multicultural psychotherapists regard power differences based on diversity elements like age, sex, race, ethnicity, religion, social class, nationality, sexual orientation, language, ideology, abilities/disabilities, and marginalized group membership. According to multicultural psychotherapists, ethnocentric psychotherapy models resist change as they retain status quo. For accepting change, social justice and empowerment are fostered by multicultural psychotherapies. They assert strengths rather than concentrating on weaknesses. The focus on diversity guides the multicultural principle. Therefore, multicultural psychotherapies gain from, and accept contributions from the fields of anthropology, sociology, ethnic and cultural studies, history, humanities, politics, arts, philosophy, law, spirituality, religion, and neuroscience, among others. As a result, there is representation of multicultural psychotherapists in diverse theoretic schools, including cognitive behavioral, psychodynamic, rational emotive, Jungian, humanistic existential, and several other major psychotherapy combinations. Irrespective of the favored theoretical strategy, multicultural psychotherapists strive for cultivating cultural competence, which is a fundamental idea in multicultural psychotherapies. Cultural competence denotes a set of attitudes, behaviors, knowledge, policies, and skills that allow practitioners to work effectively in multicultural settings (Author, 2014).

The collectivistic principle of unity in diversity gained importance in this century. Multiculturalism supports change, empowerment, and transformative discourses on privilege and persecution. Psychotherapy may be adapted culturally by developing general cross-cultural abilities or incorporating culture-specific ones. The broad label 'cultural competence' denotes skills and knowledge needed for effectively functioning in all cross-cultural medical settings. Psychotherapists who work within the level of culture-specific abilities integrate ethnic elements into conventional psychotherapy. Despite cultural adaption of psychotherapy, a large number of multiculturalists backed ethnic psychotherapies' employment for reaffirming their ethno-cultural origins. Since ethnic psychotherapies offer continuity, clients may find them beneficial in repairing their shattered identities. Aboriginal and ethnic psychotherapies draw culturally diverse people as their base is in the cultural context, thereby making them receptive to the life experiences of clients. They provide a culturally appropriate framework that corroborates ethnic and racial meanings. Furthermore, ethnic psychotherapies' basis is a spiritual, philosophical one that supports, ancestral, connective, and sacred therapeutic relationships. Thus, they give hope to clients, especially in cases wherein conventional psychotherapy strategies are ineffective. Ethnic psychotherapies are empowering at individual as well as collective levels. Folk healing, narratives, liberation psychology, network therapy, and holistic techniques derived from Eastern traditions are some ethnic psychotherapy forms (Author, 2014).