An exploratory study into how a sample of a British South Asian population perceive the therapeutic alliances in family therapy

Abstract

There is currently little research on the therapeutic alliances in family therapy, and even less on those from minority ethnic backgrounds. This paper reports on how British South Asians attending family therapy perceive the alliances, and compares this to the constructs of a newly developed tool – the System for Observing Family Therapy Alliances. Nine participants were interviewed and thematic analysis was employed to analyse the data. The results suggest that certain aspects of the alliances may need more attention when working with this ethnic group. These are safety in front of the therapist and emotional connection to the therapist (including feelings towards the reflecting team and consideration of ethnically matching therapist and client). In general, the quality of the alliance is seen as more important than employing culturally specific techniques. The implications for diversity and family therapy training are discussed.