CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS OF CULTURAL-DIFFERENCES - THE REFERENTIAL VERSUS THE INDEXICAL SELF

Literature from cross-cultural psychology and anthropology on cultural differences in the concept of the self or person is reviewed. The radically different "indexical" understanding of the self that is common among many American ethnic-cultural minorities is described and contrasted with the Western "referential" understanding of the self that dominates clinical psychology, psychiatry, and psychotherapy. Diagnostic and therapeutic implications of these cultural differences are discussed in detail, and questions and suggestions for increasing cultural sensitivity and awareness in clinical work are offered.