Cross-cultural practice: what is it really about?

The idea of cross-cultural practice, as it occurs between practitioners and their clients, is problematical. The notion of culture is analysed relative to our professions' theories of knowledge production. Practitioners use 'culture' to refer to 'linguistic', 'racial', and 'ethnic' factors. An alternative, wider definition of what constitutes culture is offered in this paper. Furthermore, cross-cultural practice is evaluated against our dominant use of an empirical science to understand people and their lives. An analysis of the processes we use within our clinical relationship is provided. Empirical processes (disothering, reductionism, and essentialism) are discussed and evaluated for their coincidental relationship to colonial thinking about culture. A theoretical framework referred to as the Relationship of Labouring Affinities is introduced as a conceptual alternative to re-position how practitioners work with their clients. Copyright 2003 S. Karger AG, Basel