Narrative Matters: Cultural humility in mental healthcare

Young people from ethnic minority backgrounds in the United Kingdom are less likely to seek psychological support than their white peers. When they do engage with services, a disproportionate number leave, often prematurely. Intercultural frameworks have been developed to help clinicians engage sensitively with diverse populations and improve outcomes. For decades, 'cultural competence' has been an accepted intercultural framework across the United Kingdom and beyond (North America, Europe and Australia). However, despite its wide application, ethnic disparities in mental healthcare remain virtually unchanged, exposing a gap between the promise of cultural competence and what it delivers. This article endorses 'cultural humility': a different approach to intercultural practice, inviting a 'way of being' embedded into practice rather than an acquired skill set. It will outline theoretical principles and describe how this model can be applied to clinical settings, using real-life scenarios involving ethnic minority young people.