Cultural Humility

This semester has allowed me to grow so much as it relates to navigating my own biases. I always come back to cultural humility. Cultural humility is the basis of competent Social Work practice. My personal definition of cultural humility in Social Work practice is acknowledging that I lack complete cultural competence, despite continuing education, and that I must instead use understanding rather than knowledge as my basis for working with diverse populations. For me, cultural humility means constantly reevaluating my privilege and self-reflecting on my personal and cultural biases within ever-changing systems of power. That being said, it is important to note that I thoroughly believe that cultural competence is one of the largest fallacies existing in Social Work practice. A culturally competent Social Worker cannot exist because cultural expressions are dynamic and must be assessed continuously. By accepting my lack of cultural competence, I can open myself up to cultural humility. This is especially important in direct practice to ensure that the clients know that I am working with them, not for them. I am building a relationship from the ground up, while consciously examining my own cultural biases and stereotypes, to ensure I am encouraging them using a Person in Environment model that supports their truest form of self. In policy, these same practices are transferable. One tangible way to ensure I am practicing cultural humility when working on public policy is to make sure to include subject matter experts from the population I am working in. For example, if I am writing an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion policy, I need to make sure I am inviting people of color, indigenous people, people with diverse sexualities and gender expressions, etc. to the table to ensure we are meeting the demands of the groups of people the policy involves. Cultural Humility has been a defining element in my coursework, personal life, professional life, and research. I hope my findings help you, too. :)