Abstract:
In the field of trauma and dissociation, culture has a significant
influence on the clinical presentation of patients. A growing
body of literature addresses the relationship between culture
and dissociation. Studies of this relationship though, evoke the
important, but at the same time extremely sensitive issue of
cross-cultural comparisons. In this editorial, I provide a limited
overview of various ways in which cultural influences have
been addressed in the field of trauma and dissociation. Most
studies have examined the occurrence of dissociative disorders
in clinical populations in different cultures and countries. Some
have focused on normative dissociation as a response to traumatic
events in non-clinical samples from different cultures.
This editorial also explores the concepts of double consciousness
and black consciousness, which have emerged from the
fields of social psychology and black psychology; and how
these concepts influence our thinking about non-clinical dissociation.
Culture-related challenges in the field of trauma and
dissociation create opportunities for training in cultural competence
for therapists. Qualitative research methods might be
best suited to future research on the relationship between
culture, trauma and dissociation. The chances of reaching
a thorough and deep understanding of the influence of culture
on trauma and dissociation might be best if the entire spectrum
of dissociation is studied – from normal to pathological
dissociation, and in its different manifestations from universal
to those unique to certain cultural groups.
