What Is Culturally Competent Psychotherapy?
What’s important to you? Not your new cell phone or TV. Go deeper. Consider what are the attributes that make you, you. These are the different things that help to define who you are as a person. They could be your family, where you grew up, faith, hobbies, beliefs, sexual orientation, and many other experiences of that have made up your life.Now, wouldn’t it be great if your therapist took these qualities into account when working with you?In the past, this was less likely to happen. But now, therapists can use culturally competent psychotherapy to create a stronger and more therapeutically connected relationship.This allows them to understand you more fully as an individual and better support you as you work through your therapeutic process.
What Is Culturally Competent Psychotherapy?
Culturally competent psychotherapy is when a therapist is aware of two factors, which include:
The fact that you are your own person with your own background, beliefs, values, and life experiences that define who you are as a person
Their own cultural background, and how it can influence their relationship with a client
An important word to keep in mind is “influence.” There are many things in your life that influence who you are—both positive and negative.The idea is that your therapist is aware of both their own background and yours. Also, that these influences shape and inform how you cope with therapeutic issues.
How Does Culture Influence Therapy?
Remember that culture is not limited to the place you grew up, faith, race, ethnic background, or language. Instead, it includes these items and more in a much wider net. Furthermore, these influences will inform how you face your own therapeutic challenges.For example, let’s say that you grew up in a household where you were taught not to talk about your feelings. That is part of your culture. Or, when you were a young adult you got in trouble with the law over some minor charges. This might have influenced the direction of your life, too.Overall, these are the experiences that contribute to your personality. Plus, they also inform how you cope with life challenges, such as depression, anxiety, and other issues.
Why Does a Therapist Need to Be Culturally Competent?
A therapist should want—perhaps more than anything else—to genuinely help you through this difficult time in your life.Processing your feelings is why you’re in therapy in the first place. To help you, your therapist will probably try to create a genuine and therapeutically healthy connection with you.However, what if their own biases and preconceived notions get in the way of that bond? These could form from the therapist’s own experiences and beliefs (or lack of understanding of both their beliefs and others).This would mean the end of the therapeutic relationship and a dead-end for your treatment. For this reason, it’s important for a therapist to be culturally competent.They need to be aware of not just your own culture, but theirs as well. A therapist must also consider how their background could create bias in their work, which would harm the relationship with their client.
How Can I Know My Therapist Is Culturally Competent?
To know that your therapist is culturally competent, you need to ask them straightforwardly. Cultural competency is becoming more widespread. Degree programs are now including it in their academic curriculum, and therapists can take continuing education units through conferences and programs.However, it helps to talk with the therapist during your first meeting to learn more about their cultural competency and how they integrate it into therapy. The great thing about cultural competency is that it can be learned. Therapists have access to much more information on the topic than they did before. Also, it requires some introspection about how they approach clients with a different background from theirs. If you want to know if your therapist is aware of these issues, talk to them about it. Remember, cultural competency is all about helping both the therapist and client to have a meaningful, genuine, and healthy therapeutic relationship. For more information about how psychotherapy can help you, please contact my office today.