Cite as (APA style): Dokunova, E. (2026). Dialogue of Cultures in Psychotherapy: Transcultural Model of Transference and Countertransference Relations in the Method of Positive Transcultural Psychotherapy. The Global Psychotherapist, 6(1), 210-223 http://doi.org/10.52982/lkj305
Abstract: The article examines transference and countertransference in psychotherapy from a transcultural perspective. Attention is given to the influence of cultural values, norms, and traditions on the dynamics of therapeutic interaction and the forms of mutual understanding.
The paper presents a literature review that explores changes in the understanding of transference and countertransference and reexamines the importance of cultural factors in psychotherapeutic interaction more broadly. The article analyzes clinical examples that illustrate how cultural values shape distinct manifestations of transference and countertransference. It also examines the limitations of applying Western psychotherapeutic models to clients from other cultures without proper adaptation and critical reflection, which may result in diagnostic errors, distorted interpretations, and, consequently, reduced therapeutic effectiveness.
The potential of the Positive Transcultural Psychotherapy method is described, whereby culture is viewed as an active and formative element of the therapeutic process, influencing interpretations, expectations, emotional reactions, and the structure of the therapeutic relationship. The concepts of actual capacities and the theory of conflicts, proposed by Nossrat Peseschkian, explain how cultural norms and emotional patterns determine ways of contact, trust, and self-expression in the therapeutic process. Through the concept of “actual capacities,” the mechanism underlying the formation of interpersonal and intrapsychic conflicts is revealed, with the cultural factor taken into account.
This approach deepens the understanding of which cultural scripts are activated in therapy, how transference and countertransference are formed in intercultural dyads, and how awareness of these processes contributes to the development of mutual understanding. Positive Psychotherapy, through its focus on resources and cultural reflexivity, provides a unique tool for working with and understanding human experience as a multidimensional, culturally conditioned phenomenon.
Keywords: Positive Psychotherapy, transcultural psychotherapy, transference, countertransference, cultural sensitivity