Discussion: Cultural Humility, Cultural Competence, and the Ethical Practice of Human Services

Over the past several decades, communities have become much more culturally diverse than ever before. In response, universities and organizations have provided cultural competence training to educate helping professionals about the values, beliefs, and behavioral norms of different cultures. While cultural competence training can be useful, it can also have negative unintended consequences on service delivery, which you will read about in this week’s Learning Resources. In recent years, there has been an increased emphasis on helping practitioners develop cultural humility, which addresses some of the negative consequences of cultural competence and closely aligns with the Ethical Standards for Human Services Professionals.