Beyond Cultural Competence, Toward Social Transformation: Liberation Psychologies and the Practice of Cultural Humility

ABSTRACT

The article uses a liberation psychologies framework to develop and strengthen a social dimension to cultural humility, one that is oriented toward social transformation. First, cultural humility is contextualized as a complement or alternative to cultural competence, addressing critiques raised about cultural competence frameworks. Second, research on cultural humility is reviewed, noting a focus on individual provider characteristics and perceptions of interpersonal relationships. Third, a liberation psychologies lens is used to conceptualize cultural humility at multiple levels: developing a critical consciousness (individual level), seeing the other (interpersonal level), and psychosocial accompaniment (collective level). A liberation psychologies orientation toward issues of oppression and social justice is proposed as consistent with a multilevel approach to defining cultural humility, especially at a collective level. Examples of cultural humility and its connections to practices such as social justice–oriented service learning pedagogies, community-based participatory research (CBPR), and practice-based evidence (PBE) approaches are discussed, as well as implications for future research and education regarding cultural humility.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported in part by a research fellowship at Biola University’s Center for Christian Thought, which was made possible through a grant from the Templeton Religion Trust. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Biola University Center for Christian Thought or the Templeton Religion Trust.

Notes on contributors

Jennifer Abe

Jennifer Abe is a professor of psychology at LMU. She received her PhD in clinical psychology from UCLA in 1992. Her research addresses disparities in mental health service delivery to ethnically and culturally diverse populations, as well as help-seeking among Asian Americans, intersections of spirituality and culture in mental health interventions, and cultural humility as an alternative to cultural competence.