Cultural Humility
Definition
An ongoing stance of self-examination about one's own culture, assumptions and power, combined with openness to learning about each client's and family's identities and values from them rather than assuming. It differs from cultural competence in being a lifelong practice rather than a body of knowledge one can finish acquiring.
In plain language
Keeping an open mind about other people's cultures and values, learning from them, and noticing your own assumptions. It is a habit, not a course you finish.
Example
Before setting mealtime goals, an analyst asks the family how meals work in their home and what matters to them, rather than assuming.
Not cultural humility
Reading one summary about a culture and treating every family from it the same way afterward.
Commonly confused with
See also
Written from
- bacb-ethics-code-2022 — Core principles and cultural responsiveness standards
Written from the ethics code's principles and from the supervision literature on cultural humility, in our own words. No text reproduced.
This entry has not yet been through clinical review. Treat it as a draft.