Training across the Pacific: Women Create an International Family Therapy Program

Abstract

This article describes the process of organizing a program of professional training for family psychotherapists in Vladivostok (in the Russian Far East region). The program includes only women—as organizers, teachers, and students. The project, supported by California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University, is in its developmental stage, and is expected to lead to an institutional training or exchange program. This article presents the autobiographical reflections of a bicultural faculty member and her Russian colleagues on the experience of organizing family therapy training cross-culturally and internationally. Social and cultural factors vital for effective international work are identified.