Introduction To make multiculturalism have meaning beyond nothing more than a politically correct term, a definite behavioral definition with latitude is required. To understand multiculturalism, it is important to first understand the concept of culture. Culture is the potting soil for all behavior. The concept of culture is so important to the Spindlers, that they have developed a notion of cultural therapy that they see as far more relevant for working with at-risk populations than personality theories. It is the Spindlers' contention that cultural therapy and anthropology have much more to offer human services than personality theories or psychology.
Cultural therapy focuses on the enduring self and the situated self.
The enduring self has a sense of history and is rooted in our family of orientation. The situated self is contemporary and is faced with daily accommodations that the self must make in present actions. The enduring self makes compromises and accommodations constantly. At some point in time the negotiations between the situated self and the enduring self lead to the evolvement of the endangered self. The endangered self arises as a result of the negotiations that the situated self makes, where the resulting behavior is non-genuine and inauthentic.