Perspectives on Intercultural Psychotherapy: An Igbo Group Analyst’s Search for Social and Cultural Identity

In this text, Okeke Azu-Okeke draws on his own experience as the first and only Black trainee in an Institute for Group Analysis in London and the impact this has had on his work as a lecturer and supervisor, as well as research from his group analysis sessions over many years to contribute a deeper awareness of the serious aspects of colonialism. From the perspective of an Igbo man of the older generation, who grew up in two conflicting cultures: the traditional Igbo culture of Nigeria and that of the British colonialists, Okeke provides a thorough study of how cultural identity can influence research and practice in whatever form it takes: that is the academic, the theoretical, the economic and the psychological, and discusses how ignoring deeply held social and spiritual values can alienate many trainees and potential clients from participating in the professions of psychotherapy and counselling. The book also reflects on the author’s research into traditional Igbo methods of healing and compares these with Western models, especially of group analysis, and discusses how mutual learning can be achieved.