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Family Systems in Cultural Consultation

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Cultural Consultation

Part of the book series: International and Cultural Psychology ((ICUP))

Abstract

The chapter introduces the importance of a systemic orientation and the use of family systems theory and therapy and as interpretive frameworks and a set of tools for cultural consultation work. A systemic orientation emphasizes (1) accessing the social context of the patient to understand their personal predicaments and options as well as resources for resilience or healing; (2) promoting a working alliance in the context of clinical engagement, treatment and problem solving with key members of the patient’s family system; and, (3) uncovering family system issues which may constitute core clinical problems that need attention in intervention planning. Systemic agendas may also involve culturally or institutionally embedded structural issues, which are key to understanding intra-psychic, social or health care related issues. A rich family therapy literature offers tools and paradigms to pursue dialogue with patients and their families while acknowledging the complex and often hybrid cultural underpinnings of identity and illness experience. To promote flexibility of cultural imagination and problem solving, the systemically oriented consultant and therapist acknowledges the impact of multiple actors and dynamics and pursues modes of engagement to validate systemic realities and facilitate options for change. Clinical case examples are used to illustrate intervention planning which acknowledging the multiple realities of the systems of the dominant or host society and the cultures of origin of migrant or minority groups.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Child Development and Mental Health, Institute of Community and Family Psychiatry, Montreal, QC, Canada, H3T 1E4

    Jaswant Guzder M.D.

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  1. Jaswant Guzder M.D.
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Correspondence to Jaswant Guzder M.D. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Jewish General Hospital Inst. Community & Family Psychiatry, Montreal, Québec, Canada

    Laurence J. Kirmayer

  2. Jewish General Hospital Inst. Community & Family Psychiatry, Montreal, Québec, Canada

    Jaswant Guzder

  3. McGill University Div. Social & Transcultural Psychiatry, Montreal, Québec, Canada

    Cécile Rousseau

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Guzder, J. (2014). Family Systems in Cultural Consultation. In: Kirmayer, L., Guzder, J., Rousseau, C. (eds) Cultural Consultation. International and Cultural Psychology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7615-3_7

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