Rather than attributing client problems to individual deficits, the counselor works with the client to identify external contributors to the problem and remediate the consequences of oppression. Further, critical self-reflection in cultural humility includes an analysis of power differentials and how those differentials may play out on individual and institutional levels (Fisher- Borne et al., 2015). Practicing with cultural humility suggests that counselors go beyond the confines of their offices to address differences in power and privilege that affect clients in tangible ways. Counselors must be self-aware and realize that clients react positively to counselors who display personal warmth, authenticity, credibility, and respect and strive for human connectedness. Practicing with cultural humility provides the following: “A promising alternative to cultural competence … as it makes explicit the interaction between the institution and the individual and the presence of systemic power imbalances. It further calls upon practitioners to confront inequalities rather than just acknowledge they exist. Cultural humility challenges us to ask difficult questions instead of reducing our clients to a set of norms we have learned in a training or course about “difference.” We believe that asking critical questions … challenges our practice and our organizations and institutions and will provide a more profound way to approach individual and community change and effective long-term methods” (Fisher-Borne et al., 2015, p. 177).
In short, “cultural humility takes into account the fluidity and subjectivity of culture and challenges individuals and institutions to address inequalities. As a concept, it challenges active engagement in a lifelong process (versus a discrete endpoint) that individuals enter into with clients, organizational structures, and within themselves” (Fisher- Borne, Cain, & Martin, 2015, p. 171). Given the breadth of issues that counseling with cultural humility encompasses, one short course cannot address all the intricacies of counseling with humility in a multicultural context. Even though racial minorities enter the counseling profession, they still comprise a small percentage of mental health workers compared with their White counterparts. Currently, 55.8% of mental health workers are White, whereas 27.9% are Black/African American and 11.1% are Latina/o; the remaining mental health workers are Native American or Asian. However, when we look at the diversity among psychologists, there appears to be less diversity. Data shows that in 2015, 86% of psychologists in the U.S. workforce were White, 5% were Asian, 5% were Hispanic, 4% were Black/African American, and 1% were multiracial or from other racial/ethnic groups (U.S. Census Bureau, 2015). The numbers seem to improve from 2015 to 2018, when diversity seems to have slightly increased in younger cohorts of psychologists. For instance, psychologists under 50 represent more diversity among African American and Hispanic demographics (Figure 5).
Figure 5. Workforce and Population Demographics
Note : From “Psychology’s Workforce Is Becoming More Diverse.” (2020). These numbers represent a variety of professional training backgrounds, including psychology, social work, psychiatry, counseling, and marriage and family therapy (SAMHSA, 2013). Most counselors are also from middle-
class backgrounds, without disabilities, and identify as heterosexual and cis-gendered. Although the perspective of this course is influenced by the author’s unique facets of diversity (e.g., BIPOC, heterosexual, cisgender, middle class,
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