CULTURAL COMPETENCE - A NECESSITY FOR THE MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS
CULTURAL COMPETENCE - A NECESSITY FOR THE MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

Summary/Abstract: The impact of cultural elements on mental health professionals is so powerful that interculturalism is seen as a defining feature of current psychology. Moreover, interculturalism is considered to be "the fourth paradigm" in the field of clinical psychology, along with psychoanalysis, behaviorism and humanism. This study addresses the importance of acquiring a cultural competence in order to achieve and train some of the skills to communicate effectively in a pluralistic democratic society. A lot of European documents underlining the importance of intercultural competence to be active citizens. We will analyze the three basic ingredients of cultural competence required by the clinical psychologist and the psychotherapist: self-awareness of one's own culture, knowledge of other cultures, and the development of culturally appropriate clinical skills. We will discuss the perspectives of several multicultural experts in the field of mental health, as well as the specificities of the Romanian cultural space. Special attention will be paid to the Romanian culture-bound syndromes (the evil eye and the nervous breakdown), and to the variables that clinical psychologists should consider when they appreciate their clients’ backgrounds.

• Details
• Contents