What to Look for in a Culturally Responsive Therapist

Finding a culturally competent therapist means being met with curiosity, care, and respect for your lived experience—without having to explain or justify who you are.

Choosing a therapist is a deeply personal decision—and for many BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ individuals, it’s also a cultural one. Finding a therapist who truly understands your lived experience can make the difference between feeling dismissed and feeling deeply seen.

A culturally responsive or culturally affirming therapist doesn’t just acknowledge culture, race, gender, or sexuality as background information. They understand how systems of power, oppression, and identity shape mental health—and they integrate that understanding into every part of the therapeutic process.

At the Aguirre Center for Inclusive Psychotherapy, we believe culturally-responsive care is essential for ethical, effective, and liberatory healing. Here’s what to look for when searching for a therapist who can truly support you.

What Does It Mean to Be a Culturally Responsive Therapist?

A culturally responsive therapist is someone who actively works to understand the cultural, racial, gendered, and social contexts shaping your life. This goes beyond surface-level awareness or checking a box. Cultural responsiveness includes:

• Ongoing self-reflection about power, privilege, and bias

• Awareness of systemic oppression and its impact on mental health

• Respect for cultural values, traditions, and identities

• A commitment to continued learning and accountability

Importantly, cultural responsiveness is not a static achievement—it’s an ongoing practice rooted in humility.

Signs You’re Working With a Culturally Responsive Therapist

When working with a culturally responsive therapist, you may notice that they:

• Invite conversations about identity rather than avoiding them

• Name racism, oppression, and systemic harm when relevant

• Do not pathologize cultural coping strategies or survival responses

• Validate the emotional impact of discrimination and marginalization

• Ask curious, respectful questions without expecting you to educate them

You should feel able to bring your full self into the room—your culture, language, spirituality, gender identity, family dynamics, and lived experiences—without fear of being minimized or misunderstood.

Cultural Humility Matters More Than “Expertise”

While shared identity can be powerful, cultural competence is not solely about matching demographics. A culturally responsive therapist practices cultural humility, meaning they recognize the limits of their knowledge and remain open to learning from you.

Cultural humility looks like:

• Willingness to repair ruptures when harm occurs

• Openness to feedback without defensiveness

• Curiosity about your experience rather than assumptions

• A collaborative, non-hierarchical therapeutic stance

No therapist will “get it right” all the time—but a culturally responsive one takes responsibility when they miss something and works to rebuild trust.

Why Cultural Competence Is Essential for Healing

For many marginalized clients, distress does not exist separate from context. Anxiety, depression, trauma, and burnout are often deeply connected to experiences of racism, homophobia, transphobia, immigration stress, or generational trauma.

Without cultural responsiveness therapy can unintentionally:

• Minimize or individualize systemic harm

• Encourage “coping” without addressing root causes

• Reinforce internalized oppression

Culturally affirming therapy helps clients:

• Depathologize survival responses

• Build self-compassion and pride

• Reclaim agency and identity

• Heal in ways that are aligned with their values and communities

Questions You Can Ask When Searching for a Therapist

If you’re unsure whether a therapist is culturally affirming, consider asking questions during a consultation, such as:

• How do you incorporate cultural identity into your work?

• What experience do you have working with clients from my community?

• How do you address racism, oppression, or identity-related stress in therapy?

• How do you handle feedback if something doesn’t feel right?

Your comfort asking these questions—and how the therapist responds—can tell you a lot about whether they’re a good fit.

You Deserve Culturally Affirming Care

You deserve therapy that honors your lived experience and understands the systems shaping your mental health. Working with a culturally competent therapist can create space for deeper healing, self-trust, and liberation.

At the Aguirre Center for Inclusive Psychotherapy, our therapists are trained in culturally responsive, anti-oppressive, and trauma-informed care. We are committed to creating spaces where BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ clients feel safe, affirmed, and empowered.

Ready to get started? Schedule a complimentary consultation to connect with a therapist who aligns with your values and needs.

Request A Free 15-Minute Consultation

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Aguirre Center for Inclusive Psychotherapy

Providing culturally-affirming, anti-oppressive and inclusive counseling and therapy in Atlanta, Georgia and beyond.