The Guijin Therapist and the Nature of Therapeutic Truth: A Relational Perspective

The professional literature is replete with examples of the benefits of the client–clinician dyad being of the same ethnic group. Noted advantages include a perceived implicit understanding of the clients subjective experience and a furthering of the therapists personal and professional growth as a result of the therapeutic interaction. This paper suggests that there are also benefits to the clinician being considered a guijin or outsider to the clients culture of origin. Utilizing a relational perspective with an emphasis on multiple self-state theory, this paper will discuss the advantages of being perceived as an outsider when working with an Asian bicultural client.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Annual International Conference for the Advancement of Private Practice in Clinical Social Work in Lisbon, Portugal on June 8, 2002.