Could you talk about other psychotherapy models you work with?
I find the Adlerian model to be broad. I use Gestalt, elements of psychoanalysis. I saw the Freudian aspect coming in. Freud and Adler shared a lot. I am not too much into CBT. There are parts which are common with CBT – humanistic perspective.
Could you talk about your interest in dreams?
Dreamwork is very interesting. Adler studied dreams differently – looking at dreams from a perspective lens. Two people may see the same dream but what it means to them due to culture could be very different.
I have been working on dreams in the context of dealing with grief and loss. For instance, in a dream of a grandmother who passed away, it could be a dream of unresolved grief. What does the dream mean from a cultural context? It can be a symbol of the psyche. From the western perspective it is always unresolved grief. Looked at from the cultural space, the same dream could be understood differently.
When you understand the culture, you understand a lot of what it means. Take the Japanese for instance – a self-sufficient people, for being responsible yourself, for taking ownership.
My client was looking for a light switch. It was in the dream – ‘If I have find the light, I have to switch it on.’ This lens of taking responsibility for the light switch was due to culture.
For a Chinese client, who is an heir and comes from a traditional Chinese family and was about to inherit a business, who dreamt he was lost the dream had to understood from the cultural lens. The dream of being lost was understood as he was looking for his elder. If we don’t know where we are we are looking to our elders for advice. I had to figure it out based on the culture.
Since culture has a direct bearing how the dream is understood, and your folktales could determine your archetype, could you talk about the importance of folktales?
When you pick a story from your religion you can connect, take the Akbar Birbal stories, they have so much wisdom, community feeling. You will see both resilience in using cultural stories and resistance. Take the story of Cinderella. The idea of girl being asked to do housework may not resonate. It is all based on what resonates with you and impresses your sense of identity.
Butterfly Lovers is a story about a girl who wants to go to school and finally does something about it. We are looking for the lens that helps me see the world. We do storywork with clients. It is not about which book you like it is about what resonates with you.
Any concluding ideas you would like to share?
It is important to remember there is a lot we have in common regardless of culture – community feeling, a sense of belonging, contributing to the world around you and helping others contribute.
Story Practices 