The Multicultural Practice of Therapy: Ethics, Empathy, and Dialectics

Abstract

Ethical practice of psychology requires cultural-contextual awareness of the individual and systemic relationships. Social, clinical, and counseling psychology can all benefit from a re-examination of practice and research as cultural phenomena. It is suggested that much of our present psychological practice is constructed from a position of "the discourse of the master," in which decisions are made without full consideration of cultural issues. A reformulation of the construct of "empathy" is suggested so that cultural/historical factors may become more clearly addressed. A dialectical process in which therapist and client work together in a reconstituted relationship is suggested as one avenue leading toward a more multiculturally aware practice of psychology.