(Re)placing multiculturalism in counselling and psychotherapy

Abstract

ABSTRACT Since multiculturalism is not fully theorised it has created much confusion in counselling and psychotherapy. It has been criticised for ignoring questions of power relations, and for emphasising the cultural differences of ethnic minority groups rather than focus on their similar predicaments of racism, sexism, misogyny, homophobia and economic oppression. Furthermore, it has not provided clinically useful information within which therapists can conduct assessments and diagnosis, understand clients’ subjective distress and cure seeking expectations. This paper explores this issue by highlighting the magical (non)sense of multiculturalism and its racialised forms, and argues that multiculturalism is untenable if it restricts itself to a few marginalised ethno-cultural client groups, rejects gays and lesbians, patronises indigenous forms of healing, and maintains a fixed racialised ‘black–white’ paradigm of practice. It suggests that a point of departure for multiculturalism from an ethno-culturalism-centred philosophy to one that is pluralistic and reflexive of the needs of all clients (irrespective of ethnicised, racialised, gendered, and sexualised subjective identities) is critical if it is to be useful psychologically. To arrive at this critical juncture, multiculturalism would need to be (re)placed, not disavowed but re-centred in the practice of counselling and psychotherapy to embrace diversity and difference across and beyond the current categories that constitute itself. Replacing multiculturalism in a ‘third space’, an ‘in-between space’—a critical multicultural space—where dominant hegemonic cultural meanings could be reinscribed and where racism, sexism, misogyny, homophobia and other ‘representations of patriarchal terror’ could be critically interrogated to empower marginalised voices. The paper explores three strategies for creating a ‘third space’ in multicultural counselling and psychotherapy: the inclusion of white people as clients; the converging of race, gender, sexual orientation, class and disability issues; and the integration of indigenous and traditional healing practices. Bringing it all together under the umbrella of diversity or critical multiculturalism will ensure an ethical and clinical practice commensurate with our current understanding of the complexity and sophistication within which clients construct their subjectivity.