Culturally Competent Therapy: What Is It & Why Does It Matter?

June 11, 2025

It’s human nature to want to feel validated in your feelings and experiences, and therapy is a great avenue for feeling understood. Yet, our unique perspectives, cultures, and outlooks often impact our emotions and struggles, which means therapy must also be personal. Culturally competent therapists better understand the qualities and identifiers that make you unique, such as race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and more. Below, we dive into the importance of culturally competent counseling and how you can take advantage of it.

Cultural Competence Explained

You might feel like other people don’t understand your values, beliefs, or experiences. This is where cultural considerations come in. Cultural competence is a set of knowledge, skills, and attitudes that someone, like a mental health provider, can apply to effectively respond to and work with people with diverse backgrounds.

When used appropriately, cultural competence has a place in nearly every industry, from healthcare to education to business to social work. In therapy, a culturally competent therapist can be key in helping you feel safe and supported, especially when sharing vulnerable feelings or emotions. For some people, culturally competent care might mean understanding experiences through a lens of race or sexuality. For others, it might mean considering regional background or spoken language during care. Regardless of your unique identifiers, these elements can impact your communication approaches, attachment styles, triggers, and emotional responses.

Why Culturally Sensitive Therapy Matters

Your therapist’s main goal is to help you feel validated, understood, and equipped to manage your emotions with the right tools. Culturally competent therapy means providing an added level of consideration and context to your sessions. Every person’s experiences are different, but below are some examples of what culturally sensitive care might look like:

When your therapist seeks to understand terms and words you use from your culture that are not considered Standard English
Helping you unpack microaggressions you’ve experienced because of your race or sexuality
Validating your perspective on a topic through the lens of your gender expression
Discussing what a mental health condition means to you, depending on your religion or culture

How Intersectionality Meets Therapy

People’s emotional or difficult experiences can be layered and involve more than one element of identity – this is called “intersectionality.” Understanding intersectionality is important for both you and your therapist because acknowledging people’s unique identifiers and experiences promotes improved policies, health approaches, self-care practices, and resources. There are many examples of intersectionality and how that relates to mental health, but the following are just a few examples:

You might be feeling like your coworkers are treating you unfairly because of your race. You might also be afraid to speak up to your manager because you’re a woman and assume it’s better if you stay quiet. Your identities as a black person and a woman blend together to create this unique experience.
You are a trans woman in college who is also Muslim and wears a hijab to cover your hair because of your religious beliefs. You might feel uncomfortable at school because some classmates tease you for wearing a hijab and also misgender you often. Your identities as a trans woman and a Muslim person impact your personal challenges in this setting.

Finding a culturally competent therapist who understands you on multiple levels is crucial to helping you address your layered mental health needs and feel safe during your sessions. The right therapist will talk you through different self-reflection practices to address your unique identities and backgrounds. When choosing a therapist, be sure you ask them their areas of expertise, test out how you feel when you unpack certain topics with them, and ask meaningful questions during the initial intake sessions to be sure you can build an effective relationship.

GoodTherapy Makes Finding Your Ideal Therapist Easy

Finding a therapist you trust can be difficult, but GoodTherapy makes it easier. Our search filters help you find professionals who understand your background and apply culturally competent care to your conversations. Simply filter your search with information like:

Location
Treatment type
Telehealth or treatment center
Therapist speciality

Plus, you can use our Therapy for BIPOC Individuals page to find a therapist who understands your different layers and experiences. We’re committed to providing inclusive resources for BIPOC individuals to get the help they deserve.

Getting the help you deserve doesn’t have to be complicated. Our licensed, highly-rated professionals are prepared to offer you personalized, culturally-informed care so you can be the best version of yourself.

The preceding article was solely written by the author named above. Any views and opinions expressed are not necessarily shared by GoodTherapy.org.