Family Systems in Cultural Consultation

Abstract

This chapter will illustrate the application of systemic approaches drawn from family systems theory and therapy to the process of cultural consultation. The author and other members of the original CCS team were trained as family therapists and bring this systemic orientation to the work. Some of the cases referred to the CCS come from other individual and family therapists who are facing challenges or impasses in their work, and the consultant then works with them to devise strategies to move the therapy forward. The CCS model focuses on the consultant as a stranger to the system and on Otherness as a key element in structuring the problem-solving process. The consultation involves a process of inquiry that is equally attentive to the issues and concerns of the referring clinician and the patient. In addition to the information obtained through interviews, the referring clinician is invited to a case conference formatted as a roundtable discussion with members of the consultation service. This allows exploration of referring clinicians' ideas about the case and some immediate response to their specific concerns. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)