ABSTRACT
The tension between universalism and relativism underpins all work and research in anthropology, cultural studies, psychology, sociology, and philosophy and derives from the fact that we must use ourselves to access, explain, and connect with the world around us, including other persons. This tension therefore also pervades all thinking about race and culture, but it is rarely highlighted as fundamental in how to approach what currently is referred to as “cultural competence”. This chapter discusses the complexity of cross-cultural psychotherapeutic practice with the help of two examples. The first is anthropological, to show the role of cultural norms and expectations in the developing attachment and relationship between an Inuit toddler and her mother and sister; and the second is clinical, to show the way culture and social structure are implicated in other aspects of therapy. Several writers have observed the parallel between the self/other dynamic in intrapsychic and developmental processes and wider social, political, and cultural identity/group processes.
