In this rapidly changing world, where travel and communication technology are helping to progressively decrease the gap between diverse people, intercultural couplehood trends continue to increase. The road to the richness of intercultural relationships may be plagued at times by challenges that can occur at numerous systemic levels. Intercultural couples are left to create stories that revisit and renegotiate their expectations, boundaries, and cultural lenses. This article has two purposes: (a) to describe the ways in which various systems influence intercultural couples and the unique experiences of intercultural couples and (b) to present an integrated approach to couples counseling through illustrations of intercultural stories.
Creativity and the creative arts are important to the portrayal of human experiences through a myriad of forms, including visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and written expression. While these forms of creative expression vary within and across cultural groups, a unifying element embedded in creative works seems to prevail through a continuous search for meaning and connection. Drawing on the wisdom of Native American, Latin, and Eastern European traditions, this article provides a model for focusing on the process of helping clients search for meaning and connection by offering a description and discussion of the following Bogusia Molina, PhD, is affiliated with Fairfield University, CT. Julieta Monteiro-Leitner, PhD, is affiliated with Southeast Missouri State University, MS. ).The authors come from four different cultures and a shared, unifying value of constructing collaborative teams. This article was written with collaborative spirit of all four and their unique talents. The order of the authors' names does not imply a hierarchy of contributions.
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