Cultural Competence vs. Cultural Humility and Why It’s Important in Therapy
Author: Kathryn Lodwick-Jones
Working with a therapist who values the importance of understanding and respecting a client’s identity, values, and lived experiences creates a foundation for trust, empathy, and connection. Without this alliance, therapy can feel disconnected, invalidating, or even harmful. This emphasizes the need for therapists to practice cultural humility. In order to understand that, let’s first talk about cultural competence.
What is Cultural Competence
Cultural competence in therapy means that a mental health professional acknowledges the role of culture, race, ethnicity, gender, religion, language, sexual orientation, immigration status, and more in a client’s life. It also means the clinician works to increase one’s own self-awareness of one’s cultural identity and potential biases. Clinicians adapt their therapeutic approach to be inclusive, affirming, and respectful of each client’s background and seek ongoing education about cultural issues to avoid assuming they “know it all” about any particular group, identity, or background. That said, one pitfall of cultural competence is that it implies that a therapist can become fully knowledgeable about a culture, almost like a checklist of traits to master. Although many use the terms “cultural competence” and “cultural humility” interchangeably, they are not synonymous.
The Shift to Cultural Humility in Counseling Practice
Cultural humility recognizes that no therapist can fully understand every aspect of a client’s cultural identity. This shift promotes lifelong learning and curiosity, rather than a finite set of knowledge. The practice of humility can allow for more adaptive flexibility, curiosity, relationality, and openness, while competence risks stereotyping. There is still an emphasis on continued learning and adapting, but the focus is more on the relationship between client and therapist, rather than putting an emphasis on clinician’s “knowing” all the “information”.
Benefits of Seeking a Therapist Focused on Cultural Humility
- Client-Centered: Cultural humility centers around the client’s lived experience and shifts power toward the client, viewing them as the expert of their own life. Rather than applying generalized cultural facts, the therapist seeks to understand how the client experiences one’s culture, identity, and worldview. The emphasis is less about what the therapist knows, and more about what the client lives and experiences.
- Promotes a Collaborative, Respectful Relationship: It encourages therapists to acknowledge and address power imbalances in the therapeutic relationship. This creates space for open dialogue, especially when clients experience cultural marginalization or trauma. The healing can begin with being seen, not analyzed.
- Adaptable to Intersectionality: Clients often belong to multiple cultural groups (race, gender, class, religion, etc.), and their identities can shift over time based on lived experience. Cultural humility adapts to this complexity by seeing the identity as dynamic and not fixed, rather than reducing one’s experience into a simplified set of categories.
- Encourages Accountability and Self-Reflection: Cultural humility requires therapists to regularly reflect on their own cultural identities, biases, and privileges . It fosters personal growth and ethical practice by acknowledging that therapists, too, are part of a sociocultural system that impacts therapy. Therapists must look inward before they can fully support others, which can further enrich, deepen, and strengthen the therapeutic relationship due to increased trust and authenticity.
The Impacts of Oppressive Approaches to Counseling
- Cultural Disconnect Can Lead to Misdiagnosis: The experience and manifestation of mental health symptoms can exhibit differently across clients and cultures. For example, a client from a collectivist culture may describe distress through physical symptoms or family dynamics, rather than individual emotions. Without cultural context, a therapist might misinterpret or overlook key issues.
- Impacts to Trust and Increased Vulnerability: If a client has to constantly explain microaggressions, racism, or spiritual beliefs, or worse, if those things are dismissed, they are less likely to share more about their challenges and experiences. Therapy should be a safe space, not a place to defend your reality.
- Cultural Values Shape Coping Styles: How someone copes with grief, stress, or trauma is often shaped by their cultural beliefs. A therapist practicing cultural humility won’t try to “correct” those approaches, but work alongside or with them.
- Representation Reduces Stigma: When people see therapists who share or affirm their cultural identity, it normalizes mental health care and reduces stigma. This sends a powerful message that you are seen, and you belong here.
- The Need Is Evidence-based and Growing: According to the American Psychological Association, over 80% of U.S. psychologists are white. Many communities, especially Black, Latinx, Asian, and Indigenous, face a shortage of providers who reflect or understand their cultural experiences. Language access, immigration trauma, and historical mistrust of the healthcare system further widen the gap. This isn’t just a preference, it’s a public health issue.
How to Find a Therapist who Practices Cultural Humility
Start with Identity-Affirming Directories: Look for therapists who explicitly mention cultural humility, anti-oppressive practice, or social justice orientation in their profiles. The Inclusive Therapists directory can be a helpful starting point. Other organizations (below) can be helpful guides to find therapists with diverse experiences or shared lived experiences based on identity. These directories can help:
Ask Intentional Questions: A therapist practicing cultural humility should welcome these questions and respond thoughtfully, not defensively. When starting with a new therapist, don’t hesitate to ask questions that may be important for you to know before beginning a long-term therapeutic relationship. Some example questions could be:
- “How do you approach cultural differences in therapy?”
- “How do you address your own cultural biases and assumptions?”
- “Can you share how you’ve worked with clients from backgrounds different from your own?”
- “What does cultural humility mean to you in your practice?”
Read Their Website or Profile Thoughtfully: You can look for language about social justice, intersectionality, equity, or client-centered approaches. Notice any mention of ongoing training, reflection, or commitment to anti-oppressive practice.
Assess the Fit in the First Few Sessions and Be Patient: It can take time to find a good fit, but if you’re feeling unsure, ask yourself the following questions:
- Do I feel seen, heard, and respected
- Does the therapist ask about my cultural identity and how it may impact therapy?
- Are they open to feedback or correction?
- Do they acknowledge their own limitations and remain curious?
If a therapist becomes dismissive or avoids difficult conversations around race, identity, or power dynamics, that’s a red flag. It’s always okay to interview a few therapists before choosing the right fit. Therapists who incorporate cultural humility into their practice as necessity, aren’t a “bonus”, but essential for effective, respectful, and empowering mental health care. Cultural humility acknowledges that healing isn’t one-size-fits-all and when therapy honors identity, it opens the door to deeper trust, better outcomes, and a more inclusive path to mental well-being.
Equilibria is a group of licensed mental health professionals in Pennsylvania and New Jersey with multiple specialties to serve all aspects of our diverse community’s mental, emotional, and behavioral needs. We provide in person and telehealth services to individuals of all ages, families, and those in relationships. Click here to schedule an appointment today.
