A Cross-Cultural Consultation and Training Exchange

Abstract

Systemic family therapists from Great Britain, Ireland, South Africa, The United States, Denmark, and Sweden, and eight agencies took part in an exchange training and consultation program in Copenhagen. It was anticipated that the shared commonalities of theory and practice would bring the cultural groups together into a coherent whole. This did not turn out to be the case. We were confronted with the differences among the cultural groups. There were misunderstandings and mismeetings, moments of mutual agreement about commonly held intentions, and the will to communicate. Plenary and small group discussions centered around such issues as leadership, hierarchy, differences in consultation styles and personal beliefs, and the constraints our culturally held beliefs and language were having on our interactions. This paper is primarily about the meanings I have arrived at about the exchange program. They do not, and cannot, represent the views of the other participants. The focus of my reflections in this paper is on the cultural differences which defined the exchange and on the dilemma of how to both retain one's own culturally syntonic beliefs, attitudes, and habits of interaction while simultaneously appreciating the other's perspective. Reconciling that dilemma creates the conditions for attaining mutuality of understanding across cultures.