The Guijin Therapist and the Nature of Therapeutic Truth: A Relational Perspective

Abstract

The professional literature is replete with examples of the benefits of the client-clinician dyad being of the same ethnic group. Noted advantages include a perceived implicit understanding of the client's subjective experience and a furthering of the therapist's personal and professional growth as a result of the therapeutic interaction. This paper suggests that there are also benefits to the clinician being considered a guijin or ''outsider'' to the client's culture of origin. Utilizing a relational perspective with an emphasis on multiple self-state theory, this paper will discuss the advantages of being perceived as an outsider when working with an Asian bicultural client.

Social Work Education and Clinical Learning

“…Furthermore, sociocultural theories provide additional means of understanding roles, power, patterns of interaction, institutions, and meaning making within society. Clinical social work education emphasizes learning and application of sociocultural theories in arriving at a culturally competent understanding the clients' subjective experience (Nye, 2005;Tosone, 2005). This is an opportunity to demonstrate that sociocultural theories are not separate from clinical theories.…”

Wrapping and Unwrapping Emotions: Clinical Practice with East Asian Immigrant Elders

“…We recognize that working with clients from different cultural backgrounds than one's own can be challenging because the clues that therapists rely on to understand and communicate with their clients are not readily available (Dyche and Zayas 2001;Shonfeld-Ringel 2001;Tosone 2005). Although the therapists in the case vignettes shared the same Asian cultural background as their clients, both received clinical training in the United States, and had to consciously tailor their clinical work to engage with their clients in culturally appropriate ways.…”

Relational Social Work Practice with Diverse Populations

“…Major assessment components include external realities like the client's socioeconomic and environmental contexts, including immigration-related issues, but also require psychodynamic attunement through relational recognition, assessment of self-states of client and clinician as they interact, and context management in terms of culturally meaningful methods of intervention (O'Connor 2006 ;Shonfeld-Ringel 2001 ;Toasland 2007 ;Tosone 2005 ). Using Case 3 (San) as example, these three components will be analyzed to help the client resolve interpersonal issues and identify context-based solutions.…”