Culture Humility

What is the relevance of practicing cultural humility in the field of counseling?
The relevance of practicing cultural humility in the field of counseling is that this practice builds trust in the counselor–client relationship, rather than the tearing down or stereotyping of that or other cultures. In helping professions it is mandatory to consider the needs of the client as well as factors that influence the client’s needs or communication of needs. By practicing cultural humility in the field of counseling the counselor understands the importance of being a life-long learner and that the continuous growing, learning, and considering the uniqueness of each individual is paramount for the counselor’s success. Cultural humility ensures a lifelong commitment to self-evaluation and self-critique, readdressing the power imbalances in the patient physician dynamic and to developing mutually beneficial and no paternalistic clinical and advocacy partnership with communities on behalf of the individuals and defined populations (Murray-Garcia & Tervalon, 1998).
Cultural humility in the field of counseling lessens the potential for cultural stereotyping. Cultural stereotyping is functioning under the belief that each culture can be defined and not taking into account the uniqueness of each individual. Different experiences in school with peers, as well as qualitative differences in how parents treat them will contribute to individual uniqueness (Sue &Sue, 2008). This statement is basically conveying that not all people are the same, and not all people within a culture handle situations the same. Just because I may have the same beliefs, doesn’t mean I may agree with the way things are handle within your particular household. Cultural humility allows for the counselor to act as a learner of the client and not as an expert. It allows for a counselor to seek to learn, rather than to impose their knowledge on individuals. Cultural humility comes from stepping away from the comfort zone of expert and acknowledging when we might not know what else to do (Austerlic, 2009).
References
Austerlic , S. (2009). Cultural humility and compassionate presence at the end of life. Retrieved from http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/focusareas/medical/culturally-competent-care/chronic-...
Murray-Garcia, J., & Tervalon , M. (1998). Cultural humility versus cultural competence: A critical distinction in defining physician training outcomes in multicultural education. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 9(2), 117-125.
Sue, D. W., & Sue, D. (2008). Counseling the culturally diverse, theory and practice. (5th ed.). Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
What is the difference between cultural competence and cultural humility?
Cultural competence and cultural humility could be misunderstood to be the same, but are quite different. Cultural competence is the ensuring that one’s culture is being considered, whereas cultural humility is the ongoing practices of considering one’s culture, confronting self-awareness, and constantly learning about the dynamic world in which we live in. The difference in that previous statement is that with competence, you are trying to make sure that steps are taken to ensure that a particular culture is recognized, whereas with humility, it is a norm to make sure that a culture is recognized and appreciated. Cultural competence is a conceptual framework to help providers understand, appreciate, and work with individuals from diverse culture (Austerlic, 2009). Whereas cultural humility is the practice with no foreseeable end goal but instead a paradigm of understanding that one’s culture is to be considered individually; that in order to effectively consider another there must first be complete consideration of one’s self.
Cultural humility comes from thinking outside the box and stepping away from the the sense of normalcy to acknowledging when we might not know what else to do (Austerlic, 2009). It is a process that requires humility as individuals continually engage in self-reflection and self-critique as lifelong learners and reflective practitioners (Murray-Garcia & Tervalon, 1998). Cultural humility allows the counselor the moment of intense self-reflection and to use unconventional methods to understanding and truly learning from the client as an individual. Counselors can create opportunities to communicate respect to the client by honoring the client’s unique way of perceiving and interacting with the world (Nystul, 2010).
References
Austerlic , S. (2009). Cultural humility and compassionate presence at the end of life. Retrieved from http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/focusareas/medical/culturally-competent-care/chronic-...
Murray-Garcia, J., & Tervalon , M. (1998). Cultural humility versus cultural competence: A critical distinction in defining physician training outcomes in multicultural education. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 9(2), 117-125.
Nystul, M. S. (2010). Introduction to counseling, an art and science perspective. Prentice Hall.
What are your reflections about the video?
The video Cultural Humility by Vivian Chavez was an intriguing video to say the least. The video made me self-reflect my thoughts and brought awareness to my incompetence in cultural awareness. The video truly made me consider and respect the importance of an idea of a culture, and one must be a learner of the individual as well as the culture. To just understand how a culture impacts an individual’s life does not encompass humility. At the beginning of the video diverse people described cultural humility in one word, a few that stood out were love and compassion. These words each play a role in cultural humility. Love focuses on the learning and seeking knowledge, and compassion relates to understanding the feeling of others and treating them with this understanding.
As an African American male from in an inner city neighborhood, I am familiar with discrimination, I found after viewing this film that I was naïve to the struggles of many other individuals in this country. I grew up feeling that I was proud of where I came from, not because of what I accomplished as a child from the hood making good of himself with guidance from parents who made sure of my success, but because I always felt that no one had it as tough as I had it growing up. I grew up with a chip on my shoulder. This video made me realize how selfish and inconsiderate I was, and made me realize that I didn’t have it as worse as others.

References: Austerlic , S. (2009). Cultural humility and compassionate presence at the end of life. Retrieved from http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/focusareas/medical/culturally-competent-care/chronic-... Murray-Garcia, J., & Tervalon , M. (1998). Cultural humility versus cultural competence: A critical distinction in defining physician training outcomes in multicultural education. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 9(2), 117-125. Nystul, M. S. (2010). Introduction to counseling, an art and science perspective. Prentice Hall. What are your reflections about the video? The video Cultural Humility by Vivian Chavez was an intriguing video to say the least. The video made me self-reflect my thoughts and brought awareness to my incompetence in cultural awareness. The video truly made me consider and respect the importance of an idea of a culture, and one must be a learner of the individual as well as the culture. To just understand how a culture impacts an individual’s life does not encompass humility. At the beginning of the video diverse people described cultural humility in one word, a few that stood out were love and compassion. These words each play a role in cultural humility. Love focuses on the learning and seeking knowledge, and compassion relates to understanding the feeling of others and treating them with this understanding. As an African American male from in an inner city neighborhood, I am familiar with discrimination, I found after viewing this film that I was naïve to the struggles of many other individuals in this country. I grew up feeling that I was proud of where I came from, not because of what I accomplished as a child from the hood making good of himself with guidance from parents who made sure of my success, but because I always felt that no one had it as tough as I had it growing up. I grew up with a chip on my shoulder. This video made me realize how selfish and inconsiderate I was, and made me realize that I didn’t have it as worse as others.