How I Integrate Cultural Considerations into My Work:

Considering culture in therapy practice is essential for providing competent, personalized, ethical, and effective mental health care. It acknowledges the rich diversity of human experiences and ensures that therapy is accessible, relevant, and respectful to everyone.

I try to strike a balance between co-creating space to discuss various identities while not assuming that any given sociocultural location corresponds with some specific identity for any given client. Where I land generally is to remain curious about my clients’ experiences in all their facets. More actively, I am sensitive to opportunities to invite clients to make sociocultural aspects of their lives more known and understood. Here are some of the principles of my work, which are reflective of my overall practice’s influence by Relational Cultural Theory (RCT).

1. Cultural Diversity: Cultural backgrounds and experiences influence relational patterns, values, and communication styles. I make room to incorporate the cultural context of clients’ lives, including their cultural heritage, identity, and social norms.

2. Cultural Relational Norms: I am attentive to the cultural relational norms that influence how individuals express emotions, communicate, and form relationships. This awareness allows therapists to validate and respect clients’ cultural experiences and relational patterns.

3. Intersectionality: I try to consider the intersectionality of identities, including race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and other social identities and how these intersecting identities influence clients’ experiences of power, agency, and relational dynamics.

4. Cultural Humility: I approach clients with cultural humility—a willingness to engage in self-reflection, acknowledge my own cultural biases and limitations, and learn from clients’ diverse perspectives and experiences. In practice, I hope this looks like curiosity, openness, and respect for clients’ cultural backgrounds, allowing for a collaborative and empowering therapeutic relationship.

5. Cultural Responsiveness in Therapy: I make efforts to adapt my therapeutic approach to be culturally responsive, considering clients’ cultural values, beliefs, and preferences. I am open to integrating cultural rituals, traditions, and metaphors into therapy when appropriate, to create a culturally affirming and validating therapeutic environment.