A Feminist Perspective of I and Thou in Counseling Women from Collectivist Cultures

This essay reconsiders Buber’s I and Thou concept from a feminist perspective and investigates the ways in which it can be utilized for counseling women from collectivist cultures. To accomplish this, cultural, gender, and clinical constellations have been brought to conversation with the I and Thou dichotomy. The I and Thou relations between God and human, and between human and human are discussed as a way of providing the foundational background for the current inquiry. In order to understand the unique psychical phenomena of I and Thou of women from collectivist background, the three qualities of ‘I’s or self–concepts have been explored. The three ‘I’s encompass ‘the invisible I,’ ‘the sacrificial I,’ and ‘the inferior I.’ On the basis of these particular ‘I’ traits, the clinical implications for counseling women from collectivist cultures are presented. The three therapeutic methods of ‘congruence,’ ‘mutuality,’ and ‘interpathy’ are offered and discussed in relation to counseling collectivist women for enhancing the betterment of their I and Thou relations and thus their overall wellbeing.