On cultural countertransference: Notes from an ethnopsychiatric setting

Proposed by Devereux in the 1970s and related to the concept of reflexivity developed in anthropology and to that of cultural humility, the concept of cultural countertransference has undergone different developments. In the Franco‐Italian domain, it is employed as an operational tool in the expanded setting of ethnopsychiatry, whilst in the Anglo‐Saxon domain it is contributing to a rethinking of power roles in the analytical setting. Herein, drawing on Fanon's observations on the effects of racism in colonial society, we propose a revival of its political value and an operational expansion. Within the contemporary global landscape characterised by forced migration and structural violence and racism, the concept enables scholars and practitioners to discern the vestiges of oppression that undergird encounters between subjects from disparate class positions and cultural backgrounds. Consequently, it offers the potential to enhance the efficacy and ethical dimensions of interventions by practitioners—defined here as any individual who operates within an institutional framework and wields decision‐making authority over others' life circumstances.