ABSTRACT
The therapy of choice for Arabic clients should not be based on the therapist’s theoretical preference, but on the client’s characteristics. Ego strength is a fundamental prerequisite to undertaking any form of therapy that might uncover repressed issues of the client. In a traditional culture, uncovering these repressed needs will leave the client in conflict between individual wants and societal demands. In evaluating a client’s ego functioning, the therapist should assess the client’s emotional stability, impulsivity, level of frustration tolerance, reality testing, and basic mental status. Many clients may have interdependent relationships with their families. It is understandable that families will affect the course of any psychotherapy, and therefore they are an essential part of any assessment. The cultural identity of the family will likely indicate the family’s strictness and reaction to changes in the client during the course of therapy. Gender of the client is also an important mediating factor in evaluating the expected reactions of the client’s family.
