Cultural humility in art therapy : an heuristic arts-based inquiry

Abstract

The changing demographics of Canadian society make cultural awareness and sensitivity a practical and ethical necessity for all mental health workers. Over the last two decades, there has been a proliferation of research on cross-cultural counseling practices. Despite this growing knowledge base, the problem facing researchers and clinicians now is how to apply the philosophical understanding of cultural competence to practice (Sue, 2(06). However, the dominant model of cultural competence has been criticized for suggesting that culture is something that can be mastered through knowledge and the acquisition of specific skills. Instead, a notion of "cultural humility" is put forth, which views self-examination as a lifelong venture (Tervalon & Murray-Garcia, 1998). Current art therapy literature tends to focus on interventions with specific cultural groups, without addressing how a therapist should account for his/her own cultural assumptions and biases in the therapeutic encounter. This research, using an arts-based heuristic approach, suggests one way in which art therapists can harness their creativity and intuition to develop cultural humility

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