Presentation Information
[SY-99](De)constructing the cultural other: professional responses to cultural diversity in mental healthcare interactions
Hilde Depauw1, Lotte Morel1, Marjolein De Pau1, Norma Day-Vines2 (1.Universiteit Gent(Belgium), 2.Johns Hopkins University(United States of America))
Keywords:
Therapist - client interactions,Othering in mental healthcare,Minoritsed clients,Anti-discriminatory practice
This symposium examines how professionals construct, interpret, and respond to cultural diversity in their therapeutic work, revealing both systematic gaps and emerging strategies across different mental health contexts. By examining micro-level interactions within healthcare settings, this session aims to reveal how these dynamics contribute to healthcare disparities and are shaped by broader structural barriers.
Presentations employ a diverse range of methodologies, including qualitative research (participant observations, thematic analysis, and discourse analysis) and quantitative studies, while incorporating insights from both the perspectives of healthcare providers and clients. The first presentation explores how community mental health teams construct the "cultural other" through focus group analysis, applying Lacanian psychoanalytic perspectives to postcolonial othering processes. The second study investigates forensic mental health professionals' experiences with ethnic diversity, documenting their informal strategies while highlighting the absence of formal organisational support and training. The third presentation analyses psychotherapists' discourse patterns when addressing culture, identifying distinct repertoires that professionals employ, mostly relying on intuition, personal experience, and improvised strategies to navigate cultural differences. The final study examines therapists versus minoritised clients' perceptions of how discussions about racial, ethnic, and cultural factors are initiated during treatment. Collectively, these studies reveal a consistent pattern: mental health professionals across forensic, community mental health centres, psychotherapy and counselling settings recognise the importance of cultural factors but lack systematic training and organisational frameworks to guide their practice.
Together, the presentations offer an empirically grounded analysis of how healthcare systems construct “otherness” and how structural-level inequalities permeate at interpersonal levels, enriching the narrative on healthcare disparities. As professionals’ practices significantly impact care quality and can either perpetuate or challenge existing disparities, this symposium aims to highlight promising pathways toward culturally responsive care that move beyond "cultural sensitivity" to actively anti-discriminatory practice.
Presentations employ a diverse range of methodologies, including qualitative research (participant observations, thematic analysis, and discourse analysis) and quantitative studies, while incorporating insights from both the perspectives of healthcare providers and clients. The first presentation explores how community mental health teams construct the "cultural other" through focus group analysis, applying Lacanian psychoanalytic perspectives to postcolonial othering processes. The second study investigates forensic mental health professionals' experiences with ethnic diversity, documenting their informal strategies while highlighting the absence of formal organisational support and training. The third presentation analyses psychotherapists' discourse patterns when addressing culture, identifying distinct repertoires that professionals employ, mostly relying on intuition, personal experience, and improvised strategies to navigate cultural differences. The final study examines therapists versus minoritised clients' perceptions of how discussions about racial, ethnic, and cultural factors are initiated during treatment. Collectively, these studies reveal a consistent pattern: mental health professionals across forensic, community mental health centres, psychotherapy and counselling settings recognise the importance of cultural factors but lack systematic training and organisational frameworks to guide their practice.
Together, the presentations offer an empirically grounded analysis of how healthcare systems construct “otherness” and how structural-level inequalities permeate at interpersonal levels, enriching the narrative on healthcare disparities. As professionals’ practices significantly impact care quality and can either perpetuate or challenge existing disparities, this symposium aims to highlight promising pathways toward culturally responsive care that move beyond "cultural sensitivity" to actively anti-discriminatory practice.