What is Cultural Psychoanalysis?

The Hypostyle Hall of the Great Temple at Abu Simbel, Egypt, Painting by David Roberts, 1849

Cultural psychoanalysis is a branch of psychoanalytic thought that looks at how culture, identity, and social structures form the self, unconscious processes, and psychological distress. Cultural psychoanalysis considers how language, ethnicity, gender, religion, history, and power relations shape the psyche, while classical psychoanalysis emphasizes internal drives and early familial relationships.

This perspective emerged from critiques of traditional psychoanalysis, which usually assumed a universal human experience based on Western, Eurocentric norms. Cultural psychoanalysts argue that what is considered "normal" or "pathological" is often culturally constructed. For example, expressions of emotion, identity, or sexuality that may be pathologized in one context may be affirmed or celebrated in another. Cultural psychoanalysis invites clinicians to reflect on their own cultural assumptions and to engage more critically and compassionately with the lived experiences of diverse clients.

In therapy, cultural psychoanalysis helps show how systemic oppression, colonial histories, migration, and intergenerational trauma may become internalized and manifest as psychological symptoms. It encourages therapists to consider not only the patient’s inner world, but also how external realities such as racism, sexism, classism, and other forms of marginalization impact mental health which leads to a more holistic and socially conscious approach to understanding suffering.

Temple, Fountain and Cave in Sezincote Park, Painting by Thomas Daniell, 1819

The therapeutic relationship itself is also re-examined through this approach as it invites dialogue about differences in power, identity, and worldview between therapist and patient, viewing these not as disruptions to neutrality but as meaningful to reflect on. It also values cultural humility, where both therapist and patient can create meaning together by acknowledging how their unique cultural contexts influence the therapeutic process.

Therefore, cultural psychoanalysis furthers the psychodynamic understanding of the individual by combining personal experience with the social world and is more inclusive, trauma-informed, and justice-oriented.