ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author outlines the evolution of his own practice in the light of his experience with other cultures, both in supervision of cases around the world, and in his everyday work with minority or ethnic groups. The family was invited to the first encounter, together with the school psychologist and a Filipino female cultural mediator. In the tradition of systemic and family therapy, empathy has been somewhat taken for granted, since emotions were considered as cultural universals. The therapist was able to keep the individual therapy going, but with a growing sense of unease, because Emily tended to refer to the mediator rather than to her even when she was able to answer in Italian. All implies that today it is more frequent for me to deal with complex families, where ethnic and cultural and other factors play a significant role.
