Abstract
Despite important moves toward reconciliation and dreams of a “rainbow nation,” the culture of violence impacts upon family and community life. This article is written within this context and more specifically within the writer's personal reflections on her practice of working as a family therapist in one of South Africa's largest black townships, Mdantsane. It challenges the relevance of first world theory and practice of family therapy in the third world context but is written in the first person and thus in the form of a “reflective practitioner.” The usefulness of the Milan approach is questioned and a move toward a social constructionist approach is favoured. The metaphor of dance and music is used to capture the dynamic interaction between client and therapist in the search for a relevant and respectful way of working with families in the South African context.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Andersen, T. (1993). See and hear: And be seen and heard. In S. Friedman (Ed.), The new language of change (pp. 54–68). New York: Guilford Press.
Bodibe, C. (1990). Traditional healing and Western therapeutic approaches—adversaries or reluctant neighbours? In J. Mason, J. Rubenstein, & S. Shuda (Eds.), From diversity to healing. Papers from the fifth biennial international conference of the S. A. Institute of Marital and Family Therapy (pp. 90–99). Durban: Artworks Desktop Publishing.
Freeman, M. (1991). Mental health for all: Moving beyond rhetoric. South African Journal of Psychology, 21, 141–147.
Gergen, K. (1991). The saturated self. New York: Basic Books.
Harris, E. (1996). Unpublished paper delivered at ACAPAP Conference. Durban.
Henning, M. (1990). Very brief family therapy in an African hospital. In J. Mason, J. Rubenstein, & S. Shuda. (Eds.), From diversity to healing. Papers from the fifth biennial international conference of the S.A. Institute of Marital and Family Therapy (pp. 101–107). Durban: Artworks Desktop Publishing.
Hoffman, L. (1988). A constructivist position for family therapy. The Irish Journal of Psychology, 9(1), 110–129.
Lifshitz, S., & Van Niekerk, S. (1990). Three views of a psychotherapy service in Mamelodi. In J. Mason, J. Rubenstein, & S. Shuda. (Eds), From diversity to healing. Papers from the fifth biennial international conference of the S.A. Institute of Marital and Family Therapy (pp. 130–146). Durban: Artworks Desktop Publishing.
Tomm, K. 1995. Interviewing the internalized other. Paper presented at the 5th World Family Therapy Conference. Amsterdam. Netherlands.
White, M. (1989). The externalizing of the problem and the re-authoring of lives and relationships. Selected papers. Adelaide: Dulwich Centre Publications.
Wittstock, S., Rosenthal, L., Shuda, S., & Makgatho, G. (1990). Links between rituals, ecologies of ideas, health, and illness. In J. Mason, L. Rubinstein, & S. Shuda (Eds.), From diversity to healing. Papers from the fifth biennial international conference of the S. A. Institute of Marital and Family Therapy (pp. 120–129). Durban: Artworks Desktop Publishing.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rankin, J.A. Ancestral Voices, Spirits, and Magic: Dance a New Dance in the Family Therapy Room. Contemporary Family Therapy 21, 225–238 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021651627004
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021651627004