What Is Culturally Sensitive Family Therapy, And How Can I Find It?

In a world of billions of people, countless cultures, belief systems, and identity labels have been developed and passed down from family to family. Because of the vast diversity of humanity, only being able to receive health services from people with a limited view of culture can be a barrier to receiving educated, informed, and empathetic care. 

Culturally sensitive care highlights the value of diversity and the need to tailor client care based on factors like cultural identity, religion, sexual orientation, gender, cultural heritage, ethnicity, race, trauma history, spirituality, and beliefs. This care can be offered in an individual or family therapy setting. In family therapy, cultural sensitivity may look at the cultural needs of a family as a whole as well as the individuals within the family group. 

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What is culturally sensitive family therapy? 

When a family comes in for therapy and mental health services, it is possible that the provider does not have the lived experience of their family culture or identity. The therapist may not understand certain aspects of how cultural factors protect the mental health of others due to cultural differences. In some cases, biases or judgments may form due to a lack of knowledge or understanding. 

The importance of cultural competence among mental health professionals

Culturally sensitive therapists often attempt to mitigate the chances of causing unintentional harm by educating themselves on various cultures, continually learning about groups of people of which they’re not a part, and learning to set aside bias and judgment to foster curiosity and growth in their practice. They typically practice cultural competence by acknowledging that any client who walks through their doors or attends a session online could have diverse cultural backgrounds, regardless of their appearance, presentation, or language.  

What does it mean for a therapist to practice cultural sensitivity?

Cultural sensitivity can look different depending on where a therapist practices, what types of services they offer, and what a client is seeking. However, some general cultural sensitivity traits can include the following:

Up-to-date on current best practices

Research on mental health and effective therapeutic modalities is constantly changing and being expanded upon. For this reason, therapists often complete extra training every year to keep their license to practice up-to-date. Cultural competency and new techniques for serving people from marginalized or unrepresented cultures can also evolve with time, and therapists who are culturally informed may continue to inform themselves on these changes by taking courses, reading studies, avoiding assumptions, networking with providers from other cultures than their own, and considering multiple viewpoints. 

Unbiased and nonjudgmental 

Bias and judgment can arise in therapists, as they are human. How a person is raised, as well as their environment, can contribute to how they see others and the world. However, a culturally competent therapist may choose to examine this bias, label it as it is instead of assuming it is a fact, and educate themselves on other cultures to potentially challenge any stigmas, myths, or bits of misinformation they picked up throughout life or their career. 

Therapists taking an open cultural perspective to treat people from various cultural backgrounds may also take steps to catch themselves when they make mistakes or unintentionally cause a client emotional harm. Instead of judging clients upon intake based on identity factors or culture, they may open themselves up and attempt to challenge their own judgments, reduce assumptions during therapy, and ask the client to explain what their culture and identity mean to them. 

Curious, open-minded, and communicative 

Mental health professionals who aim to practice cultural awareness may be curious, open-minded, and communicative. Instead of turning away from the unknown, they may ask questions, explore, and try new strategies, even if they’re not entirely comfortable. Instead of holding up long-held beliefs only for the sake of keeping their own traditions, they may recognize the possibility of sometimes being wrong or having the capability to do harm. They may open their mind to learning new lessons from clients and life experiences. In addition, they tend to communicate openly with the client to create space for feedback. 

Respectful of different beliefs and identities 

Respect for different beliefs and cultures doesn’t necessarily mean someone fully understands or knows how to offer support in every possible way. However, respect to enhance cultural sensitivity can include: 

• Being open to hearing about the client’s cultural, religious, or spiritual beliefs
• Holding space for a client to practice a prayer or other form of spirituality in session, as long as it does not harm the therapist or office space 
• Offering the space for clients to question certain beliefs they’ve grown up with, even if the therapist themselves follows that belief system 
• Asking what type of support a client is seeking regarding their cultural needs
• Avoiding stigmatizing statements and labels 
• Being transparent about one’s current level of knowledge and experience with cultural care 
• Avoiding performative allyship, such as bringing up culture, race, identity, or religion when a client has not mentioned it or labeled it important to them solely to try to make them more comfortable based on their appearance

To be respectful, clinicians can follow the American Psychological Association (APA) Code of Ethics and consider reading the APA’s guidelines on culturally sensitive care and inclusive language.

Strategies for culturally sensitive family therapy

Culturally sensitive family therapists might employ the following strategies: 

• Asking about a person’s spiritual, religious, and cultural needs on intake forms 
• Asking whether family and community members are intertwined in their culture 
• Asking each client’s pronouns and sharing their own, regardless of the client’s identity or appearance
• Asking clients whether there are topics they would like to avoid or talk about more frequently during sessions that pertain to their culture 
• Asking for feedback after each session to understand how a client felt about the approach and what they might have wanted to be different 
• Letting a client know if they don’t have personal experience with a culture but are still open to learning more about how it might impact mental health 

Clients may also offer advice, resources, and guidance to therapists about what increase their comfort, as these factors can vary per family or individual. These conversations can be double-sided and contribute to a positive therapeutic alliance.

The benefits of culturally sensitive family therapy 

Families seeking culturally sensitive family therapy may find it beneficial to talk to a therapist who has educated themselves on working with diverse populations. Although therapists are often taught in school, internships, and work experiences that being open and accepting of multiple cultures is part of offering mental healthcare, not everyone may take the same steps toward frequent self-education, effort, and exploration. 

Culture can be a significant part of a family’s dynamic, often impacting how individuals within the family relate to each other. A therapist who has not studied these dynamics may unknowingly judge a dynamic in the same way they might if it played out in their family or a “traditional” nuclear family from the United States. Finding a culturally informed therapist can help families work with someone open to learning more about how they operate as a family.

How to find a family therapist 

If you’re seeking a culturally informed family therapist, consider searching for this term online or in your area. You may find several options by looking for therapists for your specific culture or identity group. For example, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has a page dedicated to Black, Indigenous, & People of Color (BIPOC) mental health resources.

Some therapists may advertise their services specifically to a client base from their own culture, aiming to offset margins in care. Some people offer religion-based or spiritual therapy, whereas other providers might provide care centered on identity, such as LGBTQ+ challenges or immigration challenges. Although these providers may not work only with people from these groups, they may be from a specific background themselves or have extensive research and education on treating people from this background. 

When seeking a family therapist, you might ask if you can set up a free initial consultation to ask questions about their approach to culturally sensitive therapy. Then, you can list providers you think you might connect with as a family and ask your family members which therapist they’d be most comfortable with. If you don’t find a fit at first, you can pivot back to another option. Finding an effective therapist can take time, but thousands of providers in the country are learning more about offering culturally informed care to bridge the treatment gap for cultural communities. 

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Individual therapy options 

Culturally informed therapy can also be effective for individuals dealing with any mental health challenge or condition. However, finding such therapy can often be time-consuming and expensive, and it may not be available in every area of the country. In these cases, online therapy may be a more convenient way to meet with a culturally sensitive provider. 

The benefits of online therapy

Through an online therapy platform, clients can choose whether to meet with an LGBTQ+ or BIPOC therapist. Some platforms may also allow clients to choose the therapist’s gender. In addition, online therapy can offer unique tools like worksheets, journaling prompts, and group sessions. Group sessions can allow individuals to meet with others who may understand their cultural needs. 

The efficacy of online therapy

Numerous studies show that online therapy is effective. One review of internet-based therapy found that online cognitive behavioral therapy was effective for depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), among other mental illnesses.