Transcultural psychotherapy. Shifting the focus and counter-transference

In the presence of migrant patients or patients from another culture, psychotherapists, whatever their clinical practice (analytical, systemic, cognitive-behavioral, etc.), as well as demonstrating the necessary empathy, must adapt to these patients and their history, by adopting an authentic and conscious stance that embraces cultural difference and respect for the beliefs of others. They must do so without imposing their own cultural schemas and even put aside, for a time, their own knowledge as a healthcare provider. By shifting the focus away from their own culture and from their knowledge as a therapist, practitioners can draw comparisons instead of imposing the image of themselves and of the group to which they belong. This allows them to avoid stigmatizing their patients and to focus on the deficiencies or attributes that they may find “exotic” in the other person, who does not belong to their own culture. This transcultural posture is by no means a given, but instead involves a learning process to successfully establish the therapeutic alliance required for the transference-countertransference relationship.