Psychoanalytic Theory and Cultural Competence in Psychotherapy

342 Pages·2016·1.657 MB·English

by  Pratyusha Tummala-Narra

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Electronic edition published 2016.
ISBN: 978-1-4338-2155-4 (electronic edition).
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Tummala-Narra, Pratyusha, author.
Psychoanalytic theory and cultural competence in psychotherapy / Pratyusha Tummala-Narra. — First
edition.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-1-4338-2154-7 — ISBN 1-4338-2154-0 1. Psychoanalysis. 2. Psychotherapy. I. Title.
RC504.T86 2016
616.89'14—dc23
2015027679
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A CIP record is available from the British Library.
First Edition
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/14800-000
For my husband,
Vinod Narra,
and
my children,
Keshav and Ishan
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1.  A Historical Overview and Critique of the Psychoanalytic
Approach to Culture and Context
Chapter 2.  Psychoanalytic Contributions to the Understanding of Diversity
Chapter 3.  Cultural Competence From a Psychoanalytic Perspective
Chapter 4.  Attending to Indigenous Narrative
Chapter 5.  Considering the Role of Language and Affect
Chapter 6.  Addressing Social Oppression and Traumatic Stress
Chapter 7.  Recognizing the Complexity of Cultural Identifications
Chapter 8.  Expanding Self-Examination: Cultural Context in the Life and
Work of the Therapist
Chapter 9.  Implications of a Culturally Informed Psychoanalytic
Perspective: Some Thoughts on Future Directions
References
About the Author
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Numerous mentors, colleagues, and friends have influenced my
understanding of psychoanalytic psychotherapy and of sociocultural identity,
some since my training years. They include Salman Akhtar, Anne Bogat,
Lillian Comas-Díaz, Jaine Darwin, Beverly Greene, Mary Harvey, Judith
Herman, Bertram Karon, Kenneth Reich, and Janna Smith. I thank these
brilliant mentors and friends for their generosity and inspiration. I am grateful
to Paul Erickson and Jack Burke for helping me early in my career, when it
would have been easier for them to look the other way, to embark on a
journey of working with communities that are socially marginalized.
Several colleagues also have made it possible for me to move forward
with writing this book. In particular, I thank Nancy McWilliams; Frank
Summers; and the American Psychological Association, Division of
Psychoanalysis (Division 39), Johanna K. Tabin Book Proposal Prize
Committee for their support and encouragement. I am deeply thankful to
Patricia Harney and Pamela Hays who provided important and valuable
comments in the process of preparing this book. I am fortunate to work with
the American Psychological Association (APA), and I thank Susan Reynolds
and Andrew Gifford in APA Books for their excellent guidance throughout
the writing process.
My former colleagues and students at the Cambridge Health Alliance
and my colleagues and students at Boston College have provided me with
enriching dialogues and interactions that have helped me to develop as a
researcher, educator, and clinician. With regard to my clients, I am truly
honored to witness their healing and am indebted to them for transforming
me in ways that are at times difficult to articulate.
Finally, I thank my family and friends, without whose encouragement I
could not have written this book. I am especially grateful to my husband,
Vinod, and my sons, Keshav and Ishan, to whom this book is dedicated, for
their love and generosity and supporting my dedication to my work. Their
patience and sense of humor have been a life line.