A Careful Balance: Multinational Perspectives on Culture, Gender, and Power in Marriage and Family Therapy Practice

Abstract

In this study, we examined how marriage and family therapists from various countries and diverse cultural backgrounds address the intersection of gender, power, and culture in therapy. Twenty participants from 15 countries responded to an Internet survey that included several hypothetical, clinical vignettes not associated with any one particular culture or nationality. Participants selected a vignette based on its similarity to clinical situations they face in practice within their cultural contexts, and provided information about their conceptualizations of gender, culture, and power, along with treatment recommendations. We analyzed data using analytic induction and constant comparison methods. Results indicate the careful balance with which the participants work to engage clients in therapy, respect cultural values and practices, and promote equitable gender relationships.

International Adaptation of a Treatment Program for Situational Couple Violence

“…However, Karakurt et al caution therapists to consider clients’ “cultural background before determining whether couples therapy is an appropriate treatment” (p. 581). The importance of cultural sensitivity and cultural competence is an increased focus in the field of couple and family therapy (D’Aniello, Nguyen & Piercy, ; & Delgado, 2; Keeling & Piercy, ). As the field of family therapy has expanded globally (Ng, ), there is a growing need to adapt treatment models to be culturally informed to serve populations outside of the United States (US).…”

A Mexico City–Based Immersion Education Program: Training Mental Health Clinicians For Practice With Latino Communities

“…Multiculturalism, as taught in the United States, often reflects U.S. centricism. As clinical training programs are struggling to identify the best ways to prepare students to address domestic issues of diversity in today’s world, mental health educators are also increasingly widening the scope of multiculturalism to include an international perspective (Arnett, 2008; Keeling & Piercy, 2007; Marsella, 1998; Noddings, 2005). Up to this point, U.S. institutions have done poorly in developing mental health perspectives from a global vantage point (Costigan, 2004; Martín‐Baró, 1994; McDowell et al., 2006; Sloan, 1990; Wieling & Mittal, 2002).…”

The Primacy of Discourse in the Study of Gender in Family Therapy

“…Family relations scholars have quantitatively approached the study of (sexist) gender role attitudes, exploring their link to other constructs, such as marital satisfaction, role overload, and housework (Helms, Walls, Crouter, & McHale, 2010;Shapiro, 2014;Toomey, Updegraff, Umaña-Taylor, & Jahromi, 2015). Most family therapy scholarship on gender and gender-based power is qualitative and involves analyses of interview data involving therapists (Goodwin, Kaestle, & Piercy, 2013;Keeling & Piercy, 2007;Knudson-Martin et al, 2015;Parker, 2009) or family members (Cowdery et al, 2009;Maciel et al, 2009;Reynolds and Knudson-Martin, 2015), with some studies exploring recorded interactions between therapists and clients (Ward & Knudson-Martin, 2012).…”

“…Expanding conversation regarding cultural discourse involves recognizing and exploring gendered discourses (e.g., stereotypical portrayals of women as dependent) and examining alternative constructions of gender. Keeling and Piercy () conducted an online survey with 16 therapists across 15 countries to investigate how therapists address gender and power in therapy. They used grounded theory's constant comparison method to examine participants’ responses.…”