Sameness and Difference: Cultivating Cultural Dialogue

Psychoanalytic complexity theory: An application to the treatment of child sexual offenders.

“…The monologic paradigm attributes the cause and the responsibility for the sexual offender’s behavior entirely with, and within, him. The Cartesian divide between internal and external, individual and environment, supports community attitudes that render transgressors of societal rules to be “other” (Sperry, 2013). The sexual offender is “other” to those in society who have not sexually abused.…”

“…Under the microscope of reductionist methodology in the behavioral sciences, society’s tendency to see sexual offenders as “things” that are different from “us” has been perpetuated and exacerbated. This, of course, lends itself to binary thinking and relating—of us–them, good–bad, saved–damned, winner–loser—that alienate and further compromise the well-being of the person designated as “other” (Sperry, 2013). In so doing, I argue that attempts to protect children from sexual abuse have been compromised.…”

Travel as a Transformational Spiritual Event

“…Many believe that it is impossible to understand someone from another culture without understanding the world in which they live (Sperry, 2013). Reflection on our own embedded cultural assumptions and attitudes is necessary to avoid creating blind spots regarding human sameness that could interfere with our ability to understand another person’s world (Sperry, 2013).…”

“…Shared experiences can create a safe foundation, but if the focus is only on the sameness, we may miss critical ways in which we are different (Sperry, 2013). As we engage with those from different cultures, our assumptions may be exposed, an initial and necessary component of cultural humility, which is imperative if we hope to understand others (Deifelt, 2007; Foronda, Baptiste, Reinholdt, & Ousman, 2015).…”