Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

Files

File List


miami1334711065.pdf (1.28 MB)

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Therapists’ Awareness, Identification, and Management of Culture-based Countertransference

Crawford, Dana Elaine
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1334711065

Abstract Details

2012, Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, Psychology.
This study sought to increase our understanding of how therapists navigate the complex, sensitive, and triggering issues of culture in a therapeutic relationship by interviewing 10 therapists about their experiences of culture-based countertransference. An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis approach, a comprehensive, qualitative research methodology, was selected to get close to therapists’ personal world and their perspectives of culture-based countertransference reactivity. The analysis produced 24 specific themes that reflected participants’ awareness, identification, and management of culture-based countertransference. These themes were organized into 6 overarching domains: (1) Awareness of culture and culture-based countertransference reactions: This domain focused on therapists’ understanding of their cultural identities, the origins of their biases, and their beliefs about culture and culture-based countertransference; (2) Identification of triggers and manifestations of culture-based countertransference reactivity (CBCR): In this domain participants highlighted value incongruence, biases and prejudices, fixating on a specific cultural identity, SES and class issues, and uncertainty regarding colleagues’ cultural competency as triggers for a variety of CBCR; (3) Management of culture-based countertransference: Themes in this section focused on participants’ adaptive and maladaptive strategies for coping with CBCR and their mixed feelings about the effectiveness of multicultural training, supervision and consultation in fostering growth in this area; (4) Effects of culture-based countertransference: Primary themes in this domain focused on the occurrence of therapeutic ruptures and premature termination following poorly managed CBCR, problems maintaining appropriate therapeutic distance, lowered therapeutic effectiveness, and the negative impact of CBCR on therapists. Positive effects were rarely mentioned; (5) An interconnected model of culture-based countertransference: This section highlighted the various ways in which the origins, triggers, manifestations, management, and effects of culture-based countertransference were interconnected for all participants; and (6) Interview Experience: Reflections from the participants and the interviewer indicated that this topic was emotionally and cognitively difficult to discuss, the nature of the dialogue created tension, uncertainty and stress, and the interview itself also functioned to increase awareness of CBCR. Implications for clinical practice are also discussed regarding increasing cultural competency, therapeutic effectiveness, and preventing burnout.
Margaret O’Dougherty Wright, PhD (Committee Chair)
Jhan Doughty Berry, PhD (Committee Member)
Vaishali Raval, PhD (Committee Member)
Geri Susan Mosley-Howard, PhD (Committee Member)
111 p.
Clinical Psychology; Psychology; Psychotherapy
countertransference; culture; cultural competence; multicultural; supervision

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Crawford, D. E. (2012). Therapists’ Awareness, Identification, and Management of Culture-based Countertransference [Doctoral dissertation, Miami University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1334711065

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Crawford, Dana. Therapists’ Awareness, Identification, and Management of Culture-based Countertransference. 2012. Miami University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1334711065.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Crawford, Dana. "Therapists’ Awareness, Identification, and Management of Culture-based Countertransference." Doctoral dissertation, Miami University, 2012. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1334711065

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

miami1334711065
1,456
© 2012, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Miami University and OhioLINK.