Diversity in Psychotherapy

This challenging and insightful work wrestles with the difficult treatment problems confronting both culturally and socially oppressed clients and psychotherapists in a society where diversity has often been resisted. The authors question long-held assumptions within the profession and urge recognition of new ethnic, racial, and gender realities which significantly impact therapies. Recognizing the implications of cultural diversity in the society, the authors-clinicians seek to broaden health professionals' awareness of clients' needs and to promote the requisite empathy. They describe how ethnic, racial, and gender issues affect psychotherapy's progress and outcomes. Specific concerns about such key factors as self-esteem, gender roles, and social regard are addressed in a context supportive of diversity enhancement rather than one seeking uniformity. Case studies offer highly valuable resource material and, through the authors' explication, insights into their challenging perspectives on this highly important health service.

JEAN LAU CHIN is Director of the South Cove Community Health Center in Boston, Massachusetts. She is co-author of Transference and Empathy in Asian American Psychotherapy (Praeger, 1993).

VICTOR DE LA CANCELA is a clinical community psychologist licensed in three states and is currently the Senior Assistant Vice President, Managed Care Education and Special Projects for the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, the largest municipal health care system in the United States.

YVONNE M. JENKINS, a counseling and clinical psychologist, is on the staff of Harvard University Health Services, Cambridge, Massachusetts. She is also in private practice with Moore and Frauenhofer Psychological Associates, Brookline, Massachusetts.