Cultural Psychology: a first approach
I am currently studying for a master’s degree in Psychology research. To my pleasant surprise I have come across a field little known to me, and I think to many people, which is cultural psychology.
As I have written in some previous posts, I believe that in an increasingly globalized world, the understanding of human beings and their emotional discomfort cannot be limited to a single, universal perspective. Cultural psychology emerges as a fundamental tool for understanding how cultural context shapes our psychological and emotional experience.
What is culture? Culture is not simply a backdrop to our lives; as Lev Vygotsky (1978) pointed out in his sociocultural theory of development, it is the stage on which our identity, our beliefs, and our ways of experiencing and expressing emotions are constructed. Michael Cole’s (1996) studies on cultural cognition have shown how each society develops its own: value and belief systems, patterns of emotional communication and the rituals of healing and social support. It should not be lost sight of the fact that culture is not static, immovable, but is constantly changing and is strongly influenced by other cultures, especially in today’s globalized world. The great influence and dominance that Western culture has had in the world has permeated and permeated almost globally.
What does this mean for therapy?
For those of us who work in mental health, understanding this cultural diversity is as important as it is for a physician to know about different body types. We need to open our minds and recognize that our way of seeing the world is just one of many. We must also be willing to learn from other cultures and question our own “truths”. It is important to adapt our way of helping, to respect each person’s beliefs, to constantly learn about different cultures and to listen with genuine interest to experiences different from our own.
In an increasingly interconnected world, cultural psychology is not only an option, but a necessity. It allows us to better understand emotional distress in context, offering more effective tools for therapeutic accompaniment and personal development.
True understanding of the human being requires recognizing that our psychological experience is deeply interwoven with our cultural matrix. Only from this perspective can we develop a truly human psychology.
