Both/And: employing the tenets of cultural competence and cultural humility when working with Black women with depression

Cultural competence and cultural humility are hallmarks of social work practice. Cultural competence focuses on the clients’ lived experiences. Cultural humility centers the lived experiences of the clinician and the client. However, few resources are available to illustrate how to apply cultural competence and cultural humility separately. Even fewer opportunities are available to apply both. We illustrate how to employ both, cultural competence and cultural humility in practice with Black women with depression. When used together, cultural competence and cultural humility appears to be more valuable than when used individually. Based on research information presented, implications for practice are discussed.