Counselling at the cultural interface: is getting back to roots enough?

This paper attempts to view counselling in its cultural context. The central issue addressed relates to the possibly unique position which psychiatric nurses occupy in relation to this issue. It is argued that psychiatric nurses have an opportunity to challenge some of the complexities and assumptions of traditional counselling models, and contribute towards the development of a helping approach, for those who are culturally 'different', which is both authentic and flexible. After tracing the notion of cultural identity and outlining the disempowering experience of many from the cultural minority groups, when encountering the British psychiatric system, the writer considers the relevance of the Western counselling tradition in relation to those who are thus disempowered. Viewed from the complexity of human experience and cultural variability, it is claimed that many of the assumptions and premises of this tradition are themselves disempowering. An argument is made for that kind of authentic helping whose genesis is the recognition of clients in their cultural setting and which is flexible enough to respond to the individual and not merely her/his cultural grouping. With such a framework, the writer feels that psychiatric nurses could occupy a vital role, whose goal would be to re-empower individuals with diverse cultural traditions, at both a micro and macro level.