Dear SPRISCAP Members,

You probably received the call for the next SPR meeting in Toronto. So here you go with one plan..

I am planning a structured discussion group on Cultural factors in building and repairing the working alliance.

Last year at Jerusalem conference, Adam Horvath approached me and asked if this topic would interest SPRISCAP international members. I thought that this would be a great area to explore as building interpersonal relationship, within or outside therapy, involves many cultural rules. This can give us go beyond the group and contribute to the SPR more widely potentially leading to productive collaborations.

Goal, Task, and Bond are probably important in all cultures. However, the nature of these three components as well as their manifestations might be quite different depending on cultures. We do not have to stick to the alliance concept of Bordin but it will be a great start.

I think the topic is clinically relevant and will provide us with an opportunity to discuss potential research questions that we can work on together in the future. I am very excited and want to include both building the alliance, ruptures in the alliance, and repairing the alliance. But it probably is wise to keep our focus on building the alliance this time because of the time.

Participants do not need to have conducted research on the alliance. Certainly, you may bring some data or quote the alliance research. But the main thing is to discuss cultural practice and rules involved in building the alliance.

Each participant will be presenting 5 minutes on (a) What are the interpersonal rules in your culture that strongly influence the way therapists build the working alliance?; (b) What do therapists do specifically (behaviorally, nonverbally, verbally, etc.) to build the working alliance?; (c) what are the implications for these cultural practice for the concept of the working alliance? and (d) how those therapists from other cultural backgrounds can benefit from learning these cultural practice?

If you are interested in joining us, please let me know. Five presenters?

The deadline is Dec. 1st.

And if you want to form other panels, please start inviting people in!

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Shigeru

Shigeru Iwakabe, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Human Science Division
Faculty of Core Research
Ochanomizu University
2-1-1 Otsuka,
Bunkyo-ku
Tokyo, 112-8610
Japan
Tel. 81-3-5978-5780 (direct)
Fax. 81-3-5978-5777
e-mail: xxxxxx@ocha.ac.jp
homepage: https://sites.google.com/site/siwakabelaboratory/