Cultural Humility: Considerations for Training School Psychologists of Color

Abstract

This article explores the complexities of practicing cultural humility as a school psychologist of color, highlighting both barriers and opportunities inherent in this work. Traditionally, school psychologists have been expected to engage in culturally responsive practices, which are rooted in cultural competency framework. However, to effectively diversify the field of school psychology and ensure practitioners are prepared to support diverse students, cultural humility—defined as a lifelong process of self-reflection, learning, and maintaining an “other-oriented” perspective—must be integrated as a foundational and dynamic framework for all training and supervision. While much of the literature emphasizes the practice of cultural humility by White practitioners working with racially and ethnically minoritized groups, limited research addresses how school psychologists of color can and should engage in this practice. Given the unique challenges faced by school psychologists of color, including experiences of race-based stress, cultural taxation, and navigating systematic racism, adopting the same approaches as White school psychologists may be inadequate or even harmful. Drawing from the lived experiences of the authors, both women of color, the article presents practical case studies in the form of testimonios and offers actionable recommendations for school psychologists of color and those who train and support them. In doing so, it aims to promote more nuanced, equitable, and sustainable approaches for fostering cultural humility in the field of school psychology.

Keywords

Cultural humility school psychologists of color racial and ethnic diversity racism cultural diversity

Introduction

While school psychologists are required to engage in culturally responsive practices (NASP, 2020), the traditional focus on developing cultural competence (Sue et al., 1992) must be expanded to embed cultural humility throughout the profession. This expansion is essential not only for the students receiving training but, critically, for how trainers and supervisors utilize cultural humility as a continuous process of self-reflection to guide their mentorship, supervision, and ongoing support of school psychologists. Therefore, training and supervision must also be reconsidered through the process-oriented lens of cultural humility, an orientation or “way of being” that centers on continual learning, self-reflection, and self-awareness (Fisher, 2020). This framework offers a more robust foundation for creating inclusive environments that truly support and sustain a diverse workforce. Such a shift is also critical for strengthening efforts to recruit and retain students and school psychologists of color and, ultimately, to advance diversification within the field.

Much of the literature surrounding the development and practice of cultural humility focuses on the development of cultural humility in the American context within those who are part of the majority culture (i.e., White individuals) working with individuals from racially/ethnically minoritized or otherwise marginalized backgrounds (Moon & Sandage, 2019). While the field of school psychology is largely White and female, the student populations served in the United States can vary and are largely diverse (Goforth et al., 2021; Schaeffer, 2024). Research suggests that racial/ethnic match between school staff and students is vital to promote a host of positive student outcomes related to learning, motivation, social skills, and attendance (Rasheed et al., 2020) as well as systemic outcomes such as equitable discipline (Shirrell et al., 2024). However, other research suggests that among mental health providers, cultural understanding is the most important predictor of positive treatment outcomes among youth, over and above racial/ethnic match (Chu et al., 2023). Therefore, it is also critical for all school psychologists to engage in cultural humility when working with students, families, and other invested community members. It is also important to understand the unique challenges school psychologists of color face when supporting students from diverse backgrounds and advocating against systemic racism while potentially experiencing race-based stressors themselves. Psychologists of color often report being subjected to “cultural taxation,” defined as additional service obligations that are undervalued and often disproportionately assigned to people of color (Galán et al., 2023; Padilla, 1994) and may experience lower levels of satisfaction as a result of racial stressors (Banks & Callahan, 2022). Despite these challenges, cultural humility requires a willingness of practitioners to maintain an “other-oriented” perspective, provide cultural comfort, and lean into cultural opportunities with their clients (Hook et al., 2017). This can be complex for school psychologists of color who may also be coping with the impact of their own race-based trauma or the influence of their cultural identities on the practice of school psychology. Because of complex factors related to the experiences of school psychologists of color working within institutions that have historically perpetuated racism, taking the same approach of cultural humility as White practitioners may lead to negative consequences for school psychologists of color. However, research on best practices for how school psychologists of color should practice cultural humility is virtually nonexistent. Nevertheless, the unique challenges that school psychologists face along with increased efforts to diversify the field of school psychology make it critical to gain an understanding of how to best foster the development of cultural humility within school psychologists of color.

In this article, we provide an overview of current literature and discuss important considerations related to the development and practice of cultural humility by school psychologists of color. The two authors of this article identify as women of color and utilize a testimonios methodological framework to share experiences that supported their development as school psychologists of color and experiences that perpetuated systemic oppression. The testimonios methodology was selected precisely because it centers counter-narratives that expose institutional and systemic inequities that might otherwise go unacknowledged (Cervantes, 2020). The testimonios also serve as a call to action for readers to consider how current training and supervision models either support school psychologists of color or further replicate systemic oppression. Along with these reflections, we offer practical recommendations for practitioners and their trainers to support the development and professional well-being of school psychologists of color within diverse educational systems.

Cultural Humility in Helping Professions

The concept of cultural humility originated within the field of healthcare as a response to the limitations of cultural competency (Tervalon & Murray-Garcia, 1998), as the term may imply that one can master or learn all there is to know about a particular culture without continual life-long growth. Cultural humility, on the other hand, focuses on continual self-awareness and self-critique rather than assuming one has acquired all the necessary knowledge and skills to work with a particular population. Cultural humility emphasizes attending to power imbalances within contexts, social interactions, and relationships which can play a significant role in the lives of those from minoritized and marginalized communities (Tervalon & Murray-Garcia, 1998). Studies within the field of medicine indicate that medical providers who engage in culturally humble practices are more likely to foster stronger patient-provider relationships which increase patient satisfaction and trust (Or & Golba, 2023). Beyond increased patient satisfaction, cultural humility equips providers with the tools to engage in enhanced intercultural communication and has been linked to improved patient care and health equity outcomes for diverse patient populations (Hussen et al., 2020; Kibakaya & Oyeku, 2022; Nolan et al., 2021).

Since the seminal work of Tervalon and Murray-Garcia (1998), other helping professions have also adopted cultural humility as a core practice when working with diverse populations. A growing literature base in the field of social work has called for an emphasis in cultural humility, which is viewed as consistent with ongoing reflection and understanding of social structures that influence clients’ lives (Fisher-Borne et al., 2015; Gottlieb, 2021; Ortega & Faller, 2011). Amid an increasing emphasis on cultural humility within the field, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) revised the Standards and Indicators for Cultural Competence in Social Work Practice to include cultural humility as a foundational element within its guiding framework in supporting individuals from minoritized and marginalized backgrounds (NASW, 2015).

In the field of counseling psychology, cultural humility has been found to buffer the negative association between cultural differences and the quality of the therapeutic relationship; specifically, higher levels of perceived cultural humility are associated with stronger therapeutic relationships even when such differences are salient (Choe et al., 2023; Hook et al., 2016). When therapists inadvertently engage in microaggressions (i.e., everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights or insults; Sue, 2021), they can undermine clients’ trust and sense of validation (Hook et al., 2016). Ruptures in the therapeutic relationship due to microaggressions can result in poor therapy outcomes, especially among clients from racially marginalized backgrounds (DeBlaere et al., 2023). However, when therapists demonstrate cultural humility following a cultural misstep, they can buffer relational damage, stabilizing or even improving their relationships with affected clients (Choe et al., 2019). This may include the therapist admitting to the misstep, apologizing, working hand-in-hand with the client to come to an acceptable resolution, and repairing the relationship in future sessions (Choe et al., 2023).

In the field of education, Lund and Lee (2015) explored the effects of a teacher education program aimed at developing cultural humility in preservice teachers. Participants reported increased self-awareness of power and privilege and improved understanding of social justice issues immigrant students face. The teachers who participated in this study also indicated increased cultural humility in working with students. A shift towards cultural humility in education is increasingly important due to the diverse student population as it enhances the ability for educators to reflect on their own assumptions and how inequalities can impact students. While quantitative research on cultural humility in education is limited, there is emerging research that indicates cultural humility of educators is strongly associated with positive teacher-student relationships and enhanced trust, improved communication, and a greater sense of inclusion (e.g., McPhee, 2020; Srisarajivakul et al., 2023).

There have been several calls for the inclusion of cultural humility into the school psychology lexicon (e.g., Fisher, 2020; Goforth, 2016; Pham et al., 2022). Cultural humility appears beneficial in educational settings: adolescent students have more trusting and supportive relationships with teachers they perceive as being more culturally humble, and these relationships are associated with positive academic outcomes (Srisarajivakul et al., 2023). Further, studies have found that teachers who engage in cultural humility have higher scores on assessments of subjective well-being, suggesting a buffering effect of cultural humility on the relationship between teaching and burnout (Lund & Lee, 2015). In the field of counseling psychology, a growing body of literature on a related construct, intellectual humility (i.e., having insight about the limits of one's knowledge, being open to new ideas, and regulating intellectual arrogance; Davis et al., 2016), also demonstrates humility's relational benefits. Evidence suggests that adopting an intellectually humble orientation increases open mindedness and leads to more positive evaluations of people whose beliefs differ from one's own (Porter et al., 2022) which would be important in the context of training and supervision, where differing life experiences and opinions may cause conflict.

Cultural Humility for Individuals of Color

There is a significant body of literature that sheds light on the negative effects of racial stressors and oppressive systems on individuals of color (Carter et al., 2019). It is important to recognize that individuals of color who are in helping professions, including those in the field of school psychology, are likely to experience racial stressors to some extent throughout their lives and careers. In addition, many education and psychology-focused programs in the United States tend to promote White, middle-class norms and ideals with limited focus on the practices and perspectives of global or Indigenous cultures and scholars (e.g., Gillborn et al., 2021; Henrich et al., 2010). There is also a lack of literature related to the development and practice of cultural humility by those from non-dominant cultures especially as they may have to balance serving diverse populations while also experiencing racial stressors and microaggressions from clients, colleagues, and supervisors.

An emerging yet relatively small body of literature is beginning to explore the experiences of professionals of color navigating cultural humility beyond the field of psychology, including in medicine (Filingeri et al., 2023) and occupational therapy (Beagan & Chacala, 2012). Beagan and Chacala (2012) examined the experiences of occupational therapists in Ireland from minoritized and marginalized backgrounds, noting the various challenges they faced, including discrimination from clients and colleagues, and how these therapists navigated their own identities while striving to uphold client-centered care. This work highlights how these professionals navigate the development of cultural humility while working within systems they are both part of and may simultaneously experience inequities from. Although professionals of color may hold some degree of power in professional relationships, they often must negotiate their own values in complex interactions with clients, invested community members, and colleagues which can be emotionally taxing and potentially detrimental to their well-being, sense of authenticity, and professional identity.

Research examining the limitations of the existing cultural humility framework, which fails to account for the racism and oppression that therapists of color experience as well as the consequences of the various assimilative pressures and power differentials they face, is emerging (Moon & Sandage, 2019). Because therapists of color face unique experiences that White therapists do not experience, Moon and Sandage (2019) recommended a nuanced approach that critically reflects on the challenges faced by therapists of color as they engage in the practice of cultural humility. Such approaches should emphasize the need for institutional and communal resources which include the recognition that cultural humility practice is more complex for individuals of color due to dynamics of privilege and systemic oppression, institutional accountability, and increased diversity in the workplace. Furthermore, it is important to create safe and supportive spaces for therapists of color to share and process race-based stressors and to create opportunities for culturally relevant supervision, preferably by other therapists of color (Moon & Sandage, 2019).

As school psychologists, we now present our testimonios which we hope will serve as a catalyst for other school psychologists of color, supervisors, and faculty to reconsider their professional practice and utilize a culturally humble framework to advance equity within training programs and professional supervision.

Methodological Framework

The methodological framework utilized in this article is grounded in testimonios, a qualitative method rooted in Latinx literature and traditions, in which individuals share their testimonies and lived experiences to bear witness to social and systemic injustices (Cervantes, 2020). Through their testimonios, individuals share their stories to others outside of their own communities or cultures to raise awareness, foster empathy, and move others toward social justice (Delgado Bernal et al., 2012; Reyes & Curry Rodriguez, 2012).

In this article, testimonios are utilized to share autobiographical narratives of the two authors, both of whom are women of color and school psychologists. Drawing from our lived experiences, the following testimonios aim to highlight the nuances, complexities, and diverse trajectories that individuals of color may encounter as they develop in the profession. These narratives aim to shed light on the often-overlooked challenges and contextual factors, such as cultural taxation and identity development, that can shape the professional journeys of school psychologists of color.

Currently, there is a notable absence of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods research that specifically examines the development of cultural humility in school psychologists of color. The authors posit that, given the unique and multifaceted experiences of professionals of color, it is essential for the field of school psychology to begin intentionally integrating diverse and global perspectives. The testimonios included in this article were collaboratively written and reviewed by the authors, and emergent themes were analyzed and synthesized to identify shared experiences and patterns. This work seeks to open space for further inquiry and dialogue within the field, encouraging future research to more comprehensively examine the developmental trajectories of culturally diverse school psychologists.

Testimonio 1

As a Mexican American woman and daughter of two immigrant parents, my personal and professional journey has been shaped by the complexities of navigating systemic inequities, cultural identity, and the intersectionality of race and language. I was placed in an English as a Second Language (ESL) program at the start of my schooling, during a time when emergent bilingual students were often perceived through a deficit lens. This was reinforced by the structural scheduling of ESL and gifted programming at the same time as the system did not allow for dual identification. Only through a teacher's advocacy and my father's decision to decline ESL services was I afforded access to gifted education. Growing up, I often navigated cultural spaces that did not affirm biculturalism, contributing to acculturative stress while simultaneously fostering a heightened awareness of cultural differences and systemic barriers.

Although I attended K-12 schools with racially and linguistically diverse populations, this changed drastically in higher education. I went from being surrounded by students who shared similar cultural backgrounds to being one of the few students of color in both undergraduate and graduate programs. My experiences of marginalization were particularly evident during a privilege walk activity in my graduate training, where I stood alone at the back of the room as my peers moved forward. This activity underscored existing inequities and my “otherness” rather than promoting inclusion and belongingness. As I progressed through practicum and internship, I continued to encounter racial stressors.

A salient example occurred during a co-facilitated group counseling session with boys from diverse backgrounds. Several sessions in, a student became disruptive and began making racially insensitive remarks, culminating in a performative Nazi salute. When I addressed the behavior, the student questioned my reaction and asked whether I was upset because I was a person of color. Although the behavior would have warranted concern from any school psychologist, I experienced the moment as both unsafe and personally targeted. Despite my emotional unease, I recognized the need to model emotional regulation and appropriate coping strategies for the group, placing my own well-being aside in service of the students’ psychological safety. Concurrently, I had to lean into the cultural discomfort I felt while staying curious about the student's own cultural background and experiences that may have led to the behavior. I also needed to consider how to address the behavior in a developmentally appropriate and clinically effective way that would contribute to the student's growth, rather than simply removing him from the group or labeling him as oppositional.

Two critical practices emerged from this situation. First, I had to engage in cultural humility and self-regulation while navigating a racially charged interaction, ensuring both student safety and therapeutic integrity. Second, my co-facilitator and supervisor responded with practices aligned with culturally responsive and trauma-informed care. They directly acknowledged the potential impact of the incident on me as a school psychologist of color, initiated a reflective conversation about the racial dynamics involved, and created structured time and space for me to process the event. Importantly, they did not minimize the experience or shift the focus away from the racialized nature of the interaction. Instead, they supported collaborative planning around how to respond to the student in a manner consistent with both ethical and culturally informed practice. This stands in stark contrast to a separate experience in which I was assigned to develop a behavior intervention plan and provide counseling services for a student in a rural district who frequently made openly racist remarks and whose father was known for holding racist views. In that case, my supervisor and colleagues responded by laughing and simply advising me to “be prepared” in case anything racist was said, offering no meaningful support, guidance, or acknowledgment of the potential emotional impact.

As a bilingual and bicultural school psychologist, my cumulative experiences inform a deep awareness of the sociocultural and systemic factors that shape student outcomes and professional realities. While there is often an assumption that school psychologists of color inherently possess cultural humility, such competencies are shaped through lived experience, ongoing reflection, and intentional supervision and support. Cultural opportunities in practice can foster meaningful connections, but they can also serve as sources of racial stress, particularly when individuals of color are navigating multiples roles as service providers, cultural brokers, and targets of discrimination. Effective supervision and collegial support, as illustrated in the aforementioned example, are critical to ensuring that school psychologists of color can both utilize their cultural knowledge and receive the institutional support necessary to thrive professionally while maintaining their psychological safety.

Testimonio 2

I am a Thai American woman and daughter of two immigrant parents. I grew up in a suburban to rural area in North Carolina, where I was one of the only Asian Americans at my school. As a second generation American, I too felt the tension between navigating two worlds that did not fully include or validate my identities. At home, I had certain academic, behavioral and linguistic expectations placed on me that othered me at school, yet at school I had certain social and musical strengths that othered me at home. Further, when I went to visit my family in Thailand when I was ten years old, I felt a mixture of gratitude and love for those who looked like me yet a sense of rejection because of my lack of language proficiency and differences in perspectives that my American upbringing had afforded me.

The first time I remember being othered on a public level was in my seventh-grade social studies class. The teacher, a White woman, was teaching a lesson about the geography of East Asia. She then directed the following question to me: “Emily, are you Chinese or Japanese? Based on your cheekbone structure, I would say Chinese. Is that right?” As an early adolescent who desperately wanted to fit in with the White majority, I mumbled that I was Thai, not Chinese or Japanese. The teacher summarily dismissed me with a handwave and told me to ask my parents when I got home, assuming that I did not know my cultural background. From then until ninth grade, both teachers and students called me by the one-word moniker: Asian.

Numerous experiences like these motivated me to become a teacher and then later a school psychologist. While I found belonging in multicultural spaces within my training in school psychology, I was always troubled by the fact that certain practices within the field were very obviously meant to be viewed through a White normative lens. For example, one question that I was asked consistently during practicum and internship interviews was, “Tell me about a time where you worked with someone from a different cultural background as you.” In my case, every student, parent, teacher, and school staff member I have ever worked with has been different from me. Therefore, I was never quite sure how to answer that question and wondered why that seemed to be the “normal” way to ask a candidate a question about experiences with cultural diversity. One especially vexing aspect of my experience in my personal journey toward cultural humility involves maintaining an other-oriented stance in a therapeutic alliance in the face of microaggressions made by clients. In my work with assessing and counseling youth, I have noticed that I tend to minimize the importance of microaggressions when they happen, inhibit my responses to their prejudicial perspectives, and redirect the student to the task at hand in order to maintain a positive relationship quality and keep the focus on the client. I wondered if these behaviors were truly indicative of cultural humility or instead examples of what Ingraham (2000) called one-downsmanship, or intentionally adopting a lower position of expertise or power to influence the dynamics of the interaction, often with the goal of reducing defensiveness and encouraging client self-expression and autonomy. After reflecting on instances where clients have committed microaggressions against me, I felt that I had missed out on valuable cultural opportunities at the expense of maintaining the quality of the therapeutic alliance. For example, during doctoral internship when working with a White boy in the second grade whose primary treatment goal was to improve his organizational skills, he began our therapy session by making fun of how “squinty” my eyes were. Instead of attending to the comment in the moment and using it as a cultural opportunity to share that the comment made me sad or addressing how comments such as those might negatively affect others, I chose to brush it off in favor of maintaining the therapeutic alliance and doing an activity that was directly related to the treatment goal. Afterward, I recounted this to my supervisor, who was a White male, and he expressed disappointment in the client's behavior and encouraged me to address behaviors like this with future clients. In a demonstration of allyship and culturally humble supervision, he took time to process the event with me and helped me brainstorm ways that I could identify and utilize cultural opportunities that felt comfortable and true to my values. However, without seeing a model of a clinician of color in action, I felt that I was my own trailblazer in implementing these strategies in my work.

While I have had positive experiences with this supervisor, I have simultaneously felt hurt by students and their families who have committed microaggressions against me over my professional career and perhaps subconsciously distanced myself from them as a result. Over time I have intuited that more deeply exploring these topics as cultural opportunities between oneself and the client could arguably be a better way to address these issues, both for the client so that they know the effects of their words as well as for my overall well-being. However, there is a lack of clear empirical evidence from the field about what exactly to do in the face of experiencing microaggressions as a clinician of color (e.g., Choe et al., 2024). Therefore, I did not have the opportunity to obtain evidence-based professional development or training on the topic while I was a graduate student. Importantly, I have never had a supervisor of my same race, so I have not had the opportunity to see someone like me model what they would do when faced with a client microaggression, or even how they would raise the topic for discussion.

As evidenced by Johnson et al. (2024), having diversity in racial or ethnic representation among graduate educators of school psychologists is important to the recruitment and retention of school psychologists of color. Even though the Thai diaspora in America does not comprise as large of a population compared to other racial or ethnic groups, there still remains a clear need for more research to be done on school psychologists and supervisors of color and how they practice cultural humility while retaining aspects of their cultural assets that may be important, especially to our clients, consultees, families, school staff, and anyone who we encounter. In my specific case, it is still important to aspire for the demographics of the school psychology profession to reflect that of the American population's, even for those with identities that are not widely represented in the country. While I have still never worked with a Thai American client, graduate student, or supervisor, I have had reparative experiences in higher education as a professor. I presently teach a multicultural psychology class to undergraduates, and a former student from that class who identifies as Lao American recently visited with me. She shared that before taking my class, she was planning to transfer to a different university in a more culturally diverse city due to experiences of feeling othered, as our university is comprised of few Asian American undergraduate students. Because this was the first time in her life that she had a teacher who almost matched her cultural background, however, she decided to stay and complete her degree. She concluded that running away would only contribute to her community's homogeneity further and possibly lead to more negative experiences for Asian American students who came after her. This anecdote demonstrated the power and potential of representation, even if exact cultural match cannot be achieved.

Synthesis of Testimonios

The two testimonios presented share key similarities as well as differences in terms of practicing cultural humility as people of color. These themes include systemic barriers, emotional labor, and the complexity of navigating professional roles and cultural identity in racialized contexts. In terms of similarities, both cases clearly demonstrated the tensions of being bicultural school psychologists and the struggles related to integrating the home culture with expectations of the majority culture in schools and professional settings. They both describe early and persistent challenges of navigating multiple cultural worlds that do not fully affirm or reflect their identities. This tension resulted in a sense of being othered as well as the accumulation of acculturative stress related to being the token or only person representing their race and ethnicity in these spaces.

Further, both testimonios described microaggressions and systemic challenges that compounded feelings of being othered and excluded. These feelings were exacerbated by experiences of inequitable treatment in professional settings, characterized by the emotional labor and burden of maintaining professional roles and composure amid microaggressions (Testimonio 1) and the seemingly forced adherence of White-centric frameworks in psychology (Testimonio 2). These experiences also highlight the dual role that school psychologists of color play as both service providers and recipients of bias.

A lack of racial or cultural representation in graduate training, supervision, and leadership roles emerged as a significant theme. Both authors noted the absence of mentors who shared their racial or ethnic background, resulting in limited opportunities to model or discuss responses to racialized professional experiences in a culturally affirming context. This emphasizes the continued need for the recruitment and retention of otherwise underrepresented demographic groups. It also emphasizes the need to critically examine norms within training programs that can reflect dominant cultural frameworks which include deficit-based assumptions in programming (e.g., ESL vs. gifted access) and interview or supervisory practices that reflect a White normative stance. Rather than viewing cultural humility as inherent in school psychologists of color, both authors emphasize that it is a learned, reflective, and evolving process shaped by lived experience, supervision, and professional development. Importantly, moments of cultural dissonance and racial stress, when supported, can be leveraged as opportunities for growth, both for practitioners and the field at large.

In terms of differences, each testimonio outlined the benefits and challenges to practicing cultural humility while being school psychologists of color. Testimonio 1 focused on the acculturative stress and racialized challenges within the context of being a Mexican American practitioner, while Testimonio 2 emphasized the relational and individual-level issues that arise for a Thai American practitioner who is one of few from this cultural background. While both testimonios explored the experiences of encountering microaggressions, differences appear in supervisory support. The first author experienced both culturally responsive and dismissive supervision, the second author describes a consistent lack of racial representation in supervision and no opportunities to observe racially matched mentors navigating similar challenges. Their responses to microaggressions also vary. The first author focuses on the external dynamics of managing overtly racist incidents while maintaining the therapeutic space, whereas the second reflects on internal dilemmas, including the suppression of emotional responses to maintain rapport and questioning whether this behavior reflects cultural humility or deference to dominant norms. Finally, while the first author often worked with communities that partially reflected her cultural and linguistic background, the second author notes having never had a supervisor or faculty member of Thai descent, underscoring the profound underrepresentation of some racial and ethnic groups within the field. These differences reinforce the need to reject monolithic narratives of school psychologists of color and to adopt more nuanced, context-sensitive frameworks for understanding and supporting the development of cultural humility in diverse and global contexts.

Discussion

The narratives shared in this article highlight the complex and often unseen challenges that school psychologists of color face as they navigate their cultural identities, systemic barriers, and professional roles within an American context. Although cultural humility is widely recognized as an important quality in the field, the testimonios show that building and practicing cultural humility is not straightforward. Cultural humility is influenced by context, lived experience, and the kinds of support, or lack thereof, professionals receive along the way. Based on these insights, we offer several recommendations for graduate programs, faculty, and field supervisors to help create more inclusive, responsive, and supportive environments for minoritized and marginalized school psychologists.

Enhancing Representation of Minoritized and Marginalized Groups

Research has highlighted the need for enhanced representation of school psychologists of color to better serve increasingly diverse student populations, while also underscoring the importance of mentorship and inclusive environments in supporting and retaining graduate students and school psychologists of color (Graves et al., 2021; Proctor & Owens, 2019; Proctor & Romano, 2016). By providing mentorship and supervision opportunities where school psychologists of color can demonstrate skills to diverse graduate student populations, they may have a more informed perspective on what to do both when working directly with students and invested community members from different backgrounds and within the broader system to advocate for themselves and others. Graduate training programs should provide opportunities for culturally matched mentorship and connecting students of color with mentors who share similar racial or cultural backgrounds (Grapin et al., 2015; Johnson et al., 2024). In cases where such mentorship is not available within the institution, partnerships with external professionals or cross-institutional collaborations can help ensure that students of color receive culturally affirming support and guidance (Kim et al., 2024).

Integrating and Modeling Cultural Humility

Graduate trainers and faculty can integrate cultural humility throughout the curriculum and across core coursework (e.g., assessment, consultation, intervention, etc.). Curricula in school psychology programs should move beyond Eurocentric or American frameworks to include diverse cultural perspectives, scholarship authored by individuals from historically marginalized communities, and intersectional case examples that reflect a wide range of lived experiences. Embedding these perspectives into course content fosters cultural responsiveness and prepares students to work effectively in diverse school settings and a rapidly growing global society. Furthermore, learning about the experiences of others, as demonstrated in the testimonios shared by the authors, can help students develop greater cultural awareness and critical consciousness by fostering empathy and encouraging reflection on diverse perspectives. Additionally, assignments should prompt authentic reflection on identity, positionality, and professional practice. Examples include reflective journals, identity-informed goals, and case analyses. Assignments meant to raise awareness of privilege should avoid public comparison or exposure. Activities like the “privilege walk” can alienate students from minoritized and marginalized backgrounds rather than promote reflection. Private, structured activities such as written reflections or self-assessments are preferable.

Faculty and school psychology trainers can foster cultural humility by modeling self-awareness as it relates to their own cultural identities and values, reflecting on their own biases and power dynamics, and committing to life-long learning related to culture and systemic inequities (Hook et al., 2013; Lopez & Bursztyn, 2013). By seeing these values in action, students learn to approach cultural differences with openness and curiosity and gain confidence in engaging in continual self-reflection. This also can help create a safe, inclusive space where students of color feel welcomed, respected, and more willing to be vulnerable and share their experiences without fear of judgement.

Process-Focused Supervision

Faculty, field supervisors, and mentors play a critical role in promoting culturally responsive and equitable training environments. Field supervisors and mentors must be prepared to recognize and address cultural taxation by creating proactive, safe spaces where identity-related challenges can be discussed without placing the burden of disclosure solely on the supervisee (Filingeri et al., 2023; Moon & Sandage, 2019; Upshaw et al., 2020). When students share experiences of racial bias or exclusion, supervisors should respond with validation and collaborative problem-solving rather than dismissiveness or redirection. This type of process-focused supervision, which emphasizes relational safety, reflection, and mutual learning is highlighted in Testimonio 1. In this situation, the supervisor allowed the supervisee space and time to process the negative experience, validated their emotions while empowering the supervisee to problem-solve and determine the best course of action for herself and for the client. This approach supported the supervisee's emotional well-being but also reinforced culturally humble, supervisee-centered development.

Future Research

Finally, further research is needed to fully understand how school psychologists of color develop and maintain cultural humility, both within diverse communities in the USA and internationally. Studies should explore how diverse school psychologists manage cultural opportunities, microaggressions, and the emotional labor of navigating inequitable systems while also remaining open, self-reflective, and committed to growth in their personal and professional identities. Research-informed strategies are essential for guiding supervision and practice in culturally responsive and culturally humble ways.

Furthermore, to fully advance the application of cultural humility in the field of school psychology, future research must also explore the impact of intersecting identities on training and supervision. This need is particularly important given that psychology is largely Eurocentric with foundational theories, research methodologies, and dominant assessment practices originating from Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic cultures that frequently center White norms and perspectives as the universal standard (Henrich et al., 2010). Given that the field of school psychology remains predominately White and female (Goforth et al., 2021) with a Eurocentric foundation, training and supervision practices often fail to adequately address the experiences of racially, culturally, and globally diverse practitioners and students.

While the testimonios presented here are framed through our experiences as women of color, subsequent research is urgently needed to address systemic issues and complexities arising from gendered dynamics and intersecting identities (e.g., religion, neurodivergent status, LGBTQ+ status, and immigrant status). Such work should explore how intersecting identities influence the development of cultural humility and the experience of cultural taxation, including the emotional and professional burdens faced by school psychologists of color and of diverse gender identities. Findings can inform more equitable training and supervision practices. We also urge the field to explore how cultural humility is enacted in diverse contexts, both in the United States and internationally, to adopt global perspectives and approaches that challenge Eurocentric assumptions embedded in current practices. The necessity of concerted, intersectional, and global research cannot be overstated as it is a vital pathway to realizing immediate and systemic changes to training and supervision that reflects cultural humility in action, thereby establishing a genuinely supportive environment for school psychologists of color from diverse cultural backgrounds.

Conclusion

For many helping professions, cultural competency has been the standard for working with others from different cultures. This assumes that once a certain level of knowledge and skills about another culture has been acquired, continued growth is no longer needed. Although school psychologists should aspire to learn about other cultures and gain the necessary skills to work with diverse populations, it is also crucial that school psychologists maintain a spirit of cultural humility. By fostering continuous curiosity and an openness to lean into cultural opportunities, school psychologists can appreciate the unique experiences and identities of others, enriching their interactions and promoting inclusivity. It is also important to acknowledge that much of the current research and training in school psychology has been shaped by the perspectives of White practitioners. Cultural humility encourages a critical examination of power, privilege, and positionality, particularly for professionals from majority cultural backgrounds. For school psychologists of color, however, cultural humility often takes a different form, one that may include the constant negotiation of racial stressors while simultaneously navigating professional responsibilities. These psychologists frequently find themselves leaning into cultural opportunities, even when doing so involves emotional labor or distress, often without adequate institutional support. Creating inclusive and equitable environments for school psychologists of color requires more than valuing cultural humility, it demands systemic change. The recommendations previously outlined aim to reduce cultural taxation, promote institutional responsibility, and support the professional growth and well-being of minoritized and marginalized practitioners in school psychology. As such, there is an urgent need for continued research that explores how school psychologists of color develop, practice, and sustain cultural humility while leveraging their cultural assets in environments that may reinforce inequities. Understanding these dynamics is essential to shaping more responsive training, supervision, and systems-level support within the field, particularly as the field of school psychology continues to expand within globally diverse communities and contributes to international conversations about equity and culturally grounded practice.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Ethics Approval

This article is conceptual in nature and does not involve data collection or human subjects. Therefore, ethical review was not required.

Funding

The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iDs

Anabel Vega Meyer

Emily N. Srisarajivakul

Author Biographies

Anabel Vega Meyer, PhD, is an assistant professor at East Texas A&M University, specializing in School Psychology and Applied Behavior Analysis. Her research interests include culturally responsive evaluation and intervention, trauma-focused intervention, educational disproportionality, and clinical behavior analysis.

Emily Srisarajivakul, PhD, is an assistant professor of School Psychology at the University of Memphis. Her research interests include school climate, multiculturalism, and psychological consultation.

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