_________________________________________________________ Cultural Humility in Behavioral Health
Self-Assessment Quiz Question 1. Which of the following statements pertains to the definition of cultural humility?
DEFINITION OF CULTURAL HUMILITY In the context of mental and behavioral healthcare services, cultural humility is defined as “a process of being aware of how people’s culture can impact their health behaviors and, in turn, using this awareness to cultivate sensitive approaches in treating patients” (Prasad et al., 2016). In contrast, cultural competency is described as ensuring that all healthcare professionals learn a quantifiable set of attitudes that allow them to work effec- tively within the cultural context of each patient. There is an endpoint to cultural competency. It ends with the termination of the mental and behavioral healthcare professional–patient relationship. On the other hand, cultural humility is an ongoing process, which requires continual self-reflection and self-critique. Cultural humility is a prerequisite to cultural com- petency. It forms a basis for effective, harmonious healthcare professional–patient relationships (Prasad, 2016). Cultural humility involves entering into a professional relation- ship with a patient by honoring the patient’s beliefs, customs, and values. Cultural competency is described as a skill that can be taught, trained, and achieved. This approach is based on the concept that the greater the knowledge a healthcare professional has about another culture, the greater their competence in practice. Cultural humility de-emphasizes cultural knowledge and competency, focusing instead on life- long nurturing of self-reflection and self-critique, promoting interpersonal sensitivity, addressing power imbalances, and promoting the appreciation of intracultural variation and individuality (Stubbe, 2020). This humility exemplifies respect for human dignity. An important part of cultural humility is identifying one’s own biases, self-understanding, and interpersonal sensitivity. It is important that all healthcare professionals nurture an appreciation for the many facets of each patient, including culture, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual identity, and lifestyle. According to Yancu and Farmer (2017), healthcare professionals need both process (cultural humility) and product (cultural competence) to effectively provide care and interact with a culturally diverse society. Healthcare Consideration: A culturally humble healthcare professional needs to be able to provide services that tran- scend culture, ability, LGBTQ status, and class, as well as integrate healthcare professional–stated cultural and other considerations into treatment. Moreover, the healthcare professional must recognize the roles that power, privilege, and oppression play in both the counseling relationship and patient experiences (Sue & Sue, 2021).
A) Healthcare professionals must learn a quantifiable set of attitudes. B) Cultural humility is an ongoing process. C) Cultural humility is a skill that can be taught. D) Healthcare professionals know that there is an end point to cultural humility.
DIMENSIONS OF DIVERSITY IN THE U.S.
DEFINITIONS Diversity is a multidimensional concept that refers to many aspects of an individual that combine to comprise an overall sense of self. Moreover, diversity occurs within a cultural and social context where variances within the general population are treated differently based on the social, political, and cul- tural constructs existing within a society. Some dimensions of diversity include race, socioeconomic class, gender, sexual orientation (i.e., identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer/ questioning [LGBQ]), gender identification (i.e., identifying as transgender), and disability. Although this is not an exhaustive list of all elements of individual diversity, it does address many prominent dimensions of diversity an individual may have as well as determine where that individual falls within the soci- etal hierarchy. Dimensions of diversity also serve to privilege and empower some members of society while oppressing and marginalizing other members of society (Sue & Sue, 2021). Counselors need to understand the effects of diversity on a client in multiple domains, including a client’s mental and behavioral health and well-being. In some instances, a client’s identity constructs may be a source of great strength, and in other contexts they may contribute to increased stress. For example, on a microlevel simply being different in any way increases the threat of victimization and bullying (Menesini & Salmivalli, 2017). When individuals differ from the majority group, they are at risk of victimization. For instance, being the only individual in a school, workplace, or community group who possesses a certain trait increases the risk of victimiza- tion, regardless of what that trait may be (e.g., race, religion, socioeconomic status, LGBTQ, appearance).
63
EliteLearning.com/Psychology
Powered by FlippingBook