Unraveling Cultural Countertransference: The Experience of Western-Trained Caucasian Therapists Working with Asian-American Adults

CSCSW is excited to co-sponsor this workshop with the re-energized Los Angeles chapter of merican Association for Psychoanalysis in Clinical Social Work (AAPCSW)

Presenter: Lynn Rosenfield, PhD, LCSW
Discussant:  Samoan Barish, LCSW, DSW, PhD

Description: 

This presentation describes my qualitative research about the countertransference experiences of seven psychodynamically-trained Caucasian therapists who each treated an Asian-American adult for at least a year. These seasoned clinicians from a variety of religious, socio-economic and geographic backgrounds were interviewed about their beliefs, feelings, and sense of connection with their American-born clients whose parents had immigrated from Mainland China, Taiwan, Korea, and Vietnam. The relevance of Western theories, such as attachment, identity of the self, and cultural competency, are also explored.

Learning Objectives:

Participants will learn to distinguish:

• Define cultural countertransference and understand its place in the evolution of diversity theory and the contemporary conceptualization of countertransference 
• Identify the 6 components of cultural countertransference that emerged in my qualitative study
• Explore the relevance of Western-based theories such as attachment, separation/individuation, theories of the self and cultural competency when working with clients of Asian-American identity