The ‘Group-Analytic Stance’ in Training of Psychiatrists: Race, Cultural Differences and the Case Based Discussion Group

Abstract

Britain is a multicultural society with psychiatrists and their patients coming from many different countries. It is therefore important that psychiatric trainees learn to understand their own cultural determinants and how these influence understanding patients who come from different cultures, other than their own, while operating within a third and different culture. When conducted with the group analytic stance, the Case Based Discussion (CBD) group, which is a mandatory component of psychiatric training, can be a rich medium for enabling trainees to see both themselves and their patients in their cultural context.