Abstract
The present article illustrates cultural and/or cross-cultural characteristics in applying cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) to Korean clients under the following categories: (a) shamanistic healing, (b) dropping out in the initial stage of therapy, (c) being afraid of negative judgments from the therapist and therapeutic failure, (d) fear of being stigmatized by a medical term, (e) religious faith, (f) personal history about trauma or sexual issues, (g) when parents are the source of their children's problems, (h) hwa-byung as a psychosomatic problem, and (i) need for one shot therapy. The ideas presented in this article should be taken only as a framework for beginning to work with this client group. The tremendous varieties among Koreans require great care to avoid overgeneralization regarding clients and appropriate treatment methods. Nevertheless, with this caveat, the suggested solutions may be useful to cross-cultural therapists who work with Koreans.
