Durch die zunehmende Globalisierung einerseits und das Entstehen multikultureller Gesellschaften andererseits stehen wir vor der Notwendigkeit und Herausforderung, kulturelle Aspekte in unsere Arbeit vermehrt einzubeziehen. Die Berücksichtigung des Faktors Kultur in Medizin, Beratung und Psychotherapie erfordert allerdings ein Umdenken – von einer monokulturellen Betrachtungsweise hin zu einer multikulturellen. Der Rahmen, in dem nun die „therapeutische Begegnung“ zwischen Therapeut bzw. Berater und Klient stattfindet, hat sich verändert, so dass wir heute bereits vom Ende der Ära monokultureller Psychotherapien sprechen können (H. Peseschkian, 1998).

Positive Transcultural Psychotherapy (PPT), founded by Nossrat Peseschkian in 1977, can cope easily with affects, structural disorders, resistance or transference in practice, and the theoretical basis is taken partly from psychodynamic therapy. PPT describes the psychodynamic function of the symptom in a positive connotation, similar to the view of Stavros Mentzos as the “function of the dysfunctionality”. Nossrat Peseschkian (1933-2010) contributed to the mainly individualistic orientated psychodynamic therapies a culturally, social, family and group orientated approach, and to the humanistic basis a metamodel to integrate and understand other methods concerning the patients needs. The method wants to support the development of the persons capacities to become capabilities through events and challenges, based on humanistic roots (Maslow). Therapy processes are seen in three phases of human interaction – attachment, differentiation, detachment. Therapy, self help, and family therapy are structured with five step of a natural process, like the five fingers of the hand: The thumb representing observation and changing the point of view, the next fingers show on contents, ressources, conflict verbalization and widening of the goals. – Arno Remmers