ABSTRACT
This chapter integrates issues in women's psychology, particularly those related to mother-daughter relationships, the cultural influences in such relationships, and relevant factors that were considered for engaging a young Korean American woman in therapy. There is no attempt here to draw an idiopathic correlation between culture and the clinical issues presented. Such a correlation would not only be presumptuous but also offensive. Rather, in the spirit of this book, the fluidity of categories and characterizations between culture and psychodynamics are suggested. An integrative understanding of culture and psychology can enhance the mental health practitioner's understanding of a client. However, as the following case composite illustrates, neither culture nor psychology is a sufficient basis for definitive conclusions. Instead, both variables may influence perspectives that enrich one another.
