ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a systemic and postmodern framework to guide a diversity approach to psychotherapy theory and practice. Most of the conceptual and practical applications presented are based on clinical experiences with diverse groups of clients within North America, but it is likely that the framework itself applies to other client groups in the Western hemisphere. The enduring emphasis on contexts made family therapy particularly poised to question universality and to incorporate diversity and multiculturalism. The historical progression of diversity concerns places family therapy squarely within the multicultural movement. Diversity-oriented theory and practice comprises more than respect for multiple meanings or diverse cultural values about family life. With the Multidimensional Ecosystemic Comparative Approach, therapists make a holistic assessment of all the contexts to which the family belongs and draws from the family their understanding of the resources, the constraints, and the cultural dilemmas those multiple contexts create.
