An Introduction to Russian: History, Culture, and Psychotherapy
An introduction to Russian: History, culture, and psychotherapy.
Elms College
Maxim M. Arbuzov
Spring 2012
Abstract: On March 15, 2012, I landed in Vladivostok, Russia. I was amazed by the diversity and fast growth of the city since my last visit in 2006. Everything has changed the population has quickly grown, and people from around the world are visiting this place that is economically expanding. I seen family, friends, and professionals, which all knew my academic intentions. I talked a lot about social work and counseling, and more specifically: what would they do in times of crisis? Would they seek help? Where? I interviewed a few people in different generational categories, and they all had the same thing to say, for some odd reason; grab a bottle, head over to your best friends house, that is our therapy session! Therefore my questions all sprouted from one underdeveloped and not heavily researched topic: the role of psychotherapy/counseling in Russia.
Introduction It is rather difficult to understand the status of psychotherapy in Russia nowadays without the historical and cultural contexts. Russia among other nations has a long history of war and revolutions, which impacted every sphere of life. Different nations fell under the umbrella of the former “Soviet Union”, which is why Russia is such an interesting country to study because of the vast diversity. Along with diversity the most interesting part researching Russian Psychotherapy is that it is rare and has many limitations because of the past ideology.
History
Russia is a vey interesting nation consisting of a variety of ethnicities, when it was formerly known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) from 1922-1991, Russia took over other countries from eastern Europe expanding it’s political grasp. In effect The Soviet Union became a very ethnically diverse country, with more than one hundred various ethnic groups.(Culture, p.338) According to a 1990 estimate, the majority
Elms College
Maxim M. Arbuzov
Spring 2012
Abstract: On March 15, 2012, I landed in Vladivostok, Russia. I was amazed by the diversity and fast growth of the city since my last visit in 2006. Everything has changed the population has quickly grown, and people from around the world are visiting this place that is economically expanding. I seen family, friends, and professionals, which all knew my academic intentions. I talked a lot about social work and counseling, and more specifically: what would they do in times of crisis? Would they seek help? Where? I interviewed a few people in different generational categories, and they all had the same thing to say, for some odd reason; grab a bottle, head over to your best friends house, that is our therapy session! Therefore my questions all sprouted from one underdeveloped and not heavily researched topic: the role of psychotherapy/counseling in Russia.
Introduction It is rather difficult to understand the status of psychotherapy in Russia nowadays without the historical and cultural contexts. Russia among other nations has a long history of war and revolutions, which impacted every sphere of life. Different nations fell under the umbrella of the former “Soviet Union”, which is why Russia is such an interesting country to study because of the vast diversity. Along with diversity the most interesting part researching Russian Psychotherapy is that it is rare and has many limitations because of the past ideology.
History
Russia is a vey interesting nation consisting of a variety of ethnicities, when it was formerly known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) from 1922-1991, Russia took over other countries from eastern Europe expanding it’s political grasp. In effect The Soviet Union became a very ethnically diverse country, with more than one hundred various ethnic groups.(Culture, p.338) According to a 1990 estimate, the majority
References: Daw 2002